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1. Toward AlGaN channel HEMTs on AlN: Polarization-induced 2DEGs in AlN/AlGaN/AlN heterostructures

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0121195  

   Singhal, Jashan; Chaudhuri, Reet; Hickman, Austin; Protasenko, Vladimir; Xing, Huili_Grace; Jena, Debdeep (November 2022, APL Materials)

   Due to its high breakdown electric field, the ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor AlGaN has garnered much attention recently as a promising channel material for next-generation high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). A comprehensive experimental study of the effects of Al composition x on the transport and structural properties is lacking. We report the charge control and transport properties of polarization-induced 2D electron gases (2DEGs) in strained AlGaN quantum well channels in molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown AlN/AlxGa1−xN/AlN double heterostructures by systematically varying the Al content from x = 0 (GaN) to x = 0.74, spanning energy bandgaps of the conducting HEMT channels from 3.49 to 4.9 eV measured by photoluminescence. This results in a tunable 2DEG density from 0 to 3.7 × 1013 cm2. The room temperature mobilities of x ≥ 0.25 AlGaN channel HEMTs were limited by alloy disorder scattering to below 50 cm2/(V.s) for these 2DEG densities, leaving ample room for further heterostructure design improvements to boost mobilities. A characteristic alloy fluctuation energy of ≥1.8 eV for electron scattering in AlGaN alloy is estimated based on the temperature dependent electron transport experiments. 

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2. Polarization-induced 2D electron gases in N-polar AlGaN/AlN heterostructures on single-crystal AlN substrates

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0145826  

   Zhang, Zexuan; Singhal, Jashan; Agrawal, Shivali; Kim, Eungkyun; Protasenko, Vladimir; Toita, Masato; Xing, Huili Grace; Jena, Debdeep (May 2023, Applied Physics Letters)

   Polarization-induced carriers play an important role in achieving high electrical conductivity in ultrawide bandgap semiconductor AlGaN, which is essential for various applications ranging from radio frequency and power electronics to deep UV photonics. Despite significant scientific and technological interest, studies on polarization-induced carriers in N-polar AlGaN are rare. We report the observation and properties of polarization-induced two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in N-polar AlGaN/AlN heterostructures on single-crystal AlN substrates by systematically varying the Al content in the 8 nm top layers from x = 0 to x = 0.6, spanning energy bandgaps from 3.56 to 4.77 eV. The 2DEG density drops monotonically with increasing Al content, from 3.8 × 1013/cm2 in the GaN channel, down to no measurable conductivity for x = 0.6. Alloy scattering limits the 2DEG mobility to below 50 cm2/V s for x = 0.49. These results provide valuable insights for designing N-polar AlGaN channel high electron mobility transistors on AlN for extreme electronics at high voltages and high temperatures, and for UV photonic devices. 

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3. In Situ Crystalline AlN Passivation for Reduced RF Dispersion in Strained‐Channel AlN/GaN/AlN High‐Electron‐Mobility Transistors

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202100452  

   Chaudhuri, Reet; Hickman, Austin; Singhal, Jashan; Casamento, Joseph; Xing, Huili_Grace; Jena, Debdeep (October 2021, physica status solidi (a))

   The recent demonstration of  W mm⁻¹output power at 94 GHz in AlN/GaN/AlN high‐electron‐mobility transistors (HEMTs) has established AlN as a promising platform for millimeter‐wave electronics. The current state‐of‐art AlN HEMTs using ex situ‐deposited silicon nitride (SiN) passivation layers suffer from soft gain compression due to trapping of carriers by surface states. Reducing surface state dispersion in these devices is thus desired to access higher output powers. Herein, a potential solution using a novel in situ crystalline AlN passivation layer is provided. A thick, 30+ nm‐top AlN passivation layer moves the as‐grown surface away from the 2D electron gas (2DEG) channel and reduces its effect on the device. Through a series of metal‐polar AlN/GaN/AlN heterostructure growths, it is found that pseudomorphically strained 15 nm thin GaN channels are crucial to be able to grow thick AlN barriers without cracking. The fabricated recessed‐gate HEMTs on an optimized heterostructure with 50 nm AlN barrier layer and 15 nm GaN channel layer show reduction in dispersion down to compared with in current state‐of‐art ex situ SiN‐passivated HEMTs. These results demonstrate the efficacy of this unique in situ crystalline AlN passivation technique and should unlock higher mm‐wave powers in next‐generation AlN HEMTs. 

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4. Record >10 MV/cm mesa breakdown fields in Al _0.85 Ga _0.15 N/Al _0.6 Ga _0.4 N high electron mobility transistors on native AlN substrates

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083966  

   Khachariya, Dolar; Mita, Seiji; Reddy, Pramod; Dangi, Saroj; Dycus, J. Houston; Bagheri, Pegah; Breckenridge, M. Hayden; Sengupta, Rohan; Rathkanthiwar, Shashwat; Kirste, Ronny; et al (April 2022, Applied Physics Letters)

   The ultra-wide bandgap of Al-rich AlGaN is expected to support a significantly larger breakdown field compared to GaN, but the reported performance thus far has been limited by the use of foreign substrates. In this Letter, the material and electrical properties of Al 0.85 Ga 0.15 N/Al 0.6 Ga 0.4 N high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) grown on a 2-in. single crystal AlN substrate are investigated, and it is demonstrated that native AlN substrates unlock the potential for Al-rich AlGaN to sustain large fields in such devices. We further study how Ohmic contacts made directly to a Si-doped channel layer reduce the knee voltage and increase the output current density. High-quality AlGaN growth is confirmed via scanning transmission electron microscopy, which also reveals the absence of metal penetration at the Ohmic contact interface and is in contrast to established GaN HEMT technology. Two-terminal mesa breakdown characteristics with 1.3  μm separation possess a record-high breakdown field strength of ∼11.5 MV/cm for an undoped Al 0.6 Ga 0.4 N-channel layer. The breakdown voltages for three-terminal devices measured with gate-drain distances of 4 and 9  μm are 850 and 1500 V, respectively. 

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5. High-current, high-voltage AlN Schottky barrier diodes

   https://doi.org/10.35848/1882-0786/ad81c9  

   Quiñones, C_E; Khachariya, D.; Reddy, P.; Mita, S.; Almeter, J.; Bagheri, P.; Rathkanthiwar, S.; Kirste, R.; Pavlidis, S.; Kohn, E.; et al (October 2024, Applied Physics Express)

   AlN Schottky barrier diodes with low ideality factor (<1.2), low differential ON-resistance (<0.6 mΩ cm²), high current density (>5 kA cm⁻²), and high breakdown voltage (680 V) are reported. The device structure consisted of a two-layer, quasi-vertical design with a lightly doped AlN drift layer and a highly doped Al_0.75Ga_0.25N ohmic contact layer grown on AlN substrates. A combination of simulation, current–voltage measurements, and impedance spectroscopy analysis revealed that the AlN/AlGaN interface introduces a parasitic electron barrier due to the conduction band offset between the two materials. This barrier was found to limit the forward current in fabricated diodes. Further, we show that introducing a compositionally-graded layer between the AlN and the AlGaN reduces the interfacial barrier and increases the forward current density of fabricated diodes by a factor of 10⁴. 

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