Planar m-plane GaN was grown on
(11¯00) m-plane 6H-SiC substrates using high-temperature AlN nucleation layers by
metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM)
images showed striated features on the sample surface aligned along the GaN
[11¯20] direction, which are perpendicular
to those associated with a-plane
(11¯20) GaN. The epitaxial relationship between the m-GaN and 6H-SiC was analyzed
using high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD). In order to reduce the defect density, epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO)
was carried out on an m-GaN template with mask stripes along the GaN
[11¯20] direction, which makes the lateral
growth fronts advance along the GaN c-axis. On-axis XRD rocking curves show that the full width at half maximum
(FWHM) values for the ELO samples were reduced by nearly half when compared to those of the m-plane template
without ELO. Clear atomic steps were observed in the wing regions by AFM. The absence of the striated features that
are associated with the template could be indicative of the reduction of basal stacking faults in the ELO wings. Lowtemperature
photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed an excitonic emission at 3.47eV, a basal stacking fault (BSF)-
related emission at 3.41 eV, and other defect-related emissions at 3.29 eV and 3.34 eV.
For exact notation please see manuscript
Deep levels in thin GaN epilayers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on different
templates were studied by photocapacitance spectroscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy
(DLTS) using Schottky barrier diodes. We observed the reduction of electrically and optically active
traps in GaN grown with in situ SiNx nanonetwork and SiO2 striped mask or conventional epitaxial
lateral overgrowth technique (ELO) as compared to a typical control layer on a sapphire substrate.
All samples measured by DLTS in the temperature range from 80 K to 400 K exhibited traps with
activation energies 0.55-0.58 eV and 0.21-0.28 eV. The lowest concentration of both traps was
achieved for the sample with 6 min deposition of SiNx nanonetwork, which was lower than that for
the sample prepared by conventional ELO, and much lower than that in the control. The steady-state
photocapacitance spectra of all samples taken at 80 K over the spectral range 0.75-3.50 eV
demonstrated a similar trend for all the layers. The photocapacitance spectra exhibited defect levels
with optical threshold energies of 1.2-1.3, 1.6, 2.2 and 3.1 eV. The determined concentrations of
traps were compared and the results were consistent with DLTS measurements. The layer with SiNx
nanonetwork has the lowest concentrations of optically active traps with the standard GaN control
layer being the worst in terms of trap concentrations. The consistent trend among the
photocapacitance spectroscopy and DLTS results suggests that SiNx network can effectively reduce
deep levels in GaN, which otherwise can deteriorate both optical and electrical performance of GaN-based
devices.
AlGaN/6H-SiC heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were fabricated, and the device performance as well as the
electrical properties of the n-AlGaN/p-SiC heterojunction were studied by temperature dependent current-voltage
characterization. Current gain β=IC/IB calculated from I-V characteristics varied from sample to sample in the range of
75-100. A barrier height of 1.1 eV is derived from the Arrhenius plot and its origin is discussed.
Lead zirconate titanate PbZr52Ti48O3 (PZT) layers were deposited on ZnO layers by rf-sputtering at varying substrate temperatures. The effect of annealing on PZT crystal properties has been studied by X-ray diffraction and atomic force
microscopy. It is shown that the annealing in oxygen ambient has significant effect on the quality of the deposited PZT
layers. The optimum growth temperature has been found to be 650 C.
ZnO nanorods were grown by catalyst-assisted vapor phase transport on Si(001), GaN(0001)/c-Al2O3, and bulk
ZnO(0001) substrates. Morphology studies as well as X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed
that ZnO nanorods grew mostly perpendicular to the GaN(0001) and ZnO(0001) substrate surface, whereas a more
random directional distribution was found for nanorods on Si(001). Integral optical properties of fabricated nanorods
were studied by steady-state photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence. Stimulated emission was
observed from ZnO nanorods on GaN(0001)/c-Al2O3 substrates, most likely due to their vertical orientation. Near-field
scanning optical microscopy was applied to investigate luminescent properties of individual rods. Raman
spectroscopy revealed biaxial compressive strain in the nanorod samples grown on Si(001). Conductive atomic force
microscopy showed that nanorods are electrically isolated from each other. I-V spectra of individual nanorods were
measured.
Reduction of deep centers in GaN layers grown employing nano-ELO SiNx porous nanonetworks has been studied by
deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The obtained concentrations of deep traps in layers with SiNx nanonetworks
were compared with an otherwise identical reference sample and with another sample grown by employing conventional
ELO technique. Two traps, labeled A (0.54-0.58 eV) and B (0.20-0.23 eV), were delineated in all layers with trap A
being dominant in the temperature range 80-400 K. The concentration of trap A in SiNx layers was found to be lower by
2-4 times compare to the reference sample. The minimum concentration 7.5x1014 cm-3 was obtained in the layer grown
on SiO2 stripe pattern which is ~6 times lower compare to the reference sample. We have found the logarithmic capture
mechanism up to ~20 ms for deep center A. Considering that the lateral growth mainly reduces the edge dislocations in
our films it is tempting to suggest that structural defects that may have a direct and or indirect role in the creation of the
dominant trap which we believe are located close to each other along the edge threading dislocation lines. In addition, a
small blue shift, compare to a strain free layers, of the neutral-donor-bound-exciton line (D0XA) observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the samples grown with lateral overgrowth is indicative of partial strain relief.
Preliminary results on nanoheteroepitaxy of GaN on silicon face (Si-face) and carbon face (C-face) nano-columnar
SiC (CSC) by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are reported. The CSC
substrates are fabricated from standard SiC wafers by photo-enhanced electrochemical etching, with typical
diameter of pores around 20nm. Noticeable reduction of threading dislocations (TDs) in GaN is realized on
the CSC substrates. On the C-face CSC, GaN nuclei have an inverted pyramidal shape which contains high
density of stacking faults (SFs). These SFs block possible extension of TDs into upper portion of the layer.
On the Si-face CSC, TDs are annihilated by forming nanoscale TD half-loops over the surface pores. These
nanoscale TD loops confine the defective layer in GaN to within ~50 nm thickness from the GaN/CSC
interface. High density (~5x108 cm-2) of remnant TDs still presents in GaN grown on CSC, chiefly because
the surface damages on CSC were not properly removed before growth.
Epitaxial growth of ZrO2 has been achieved on MOCVD-grown GaN(0001) templates by
oxides molecular beam epitaxy using reactive H2O2 for oxygen and organometallic
source for Zr. Utilizing a low temperature buffer layer followed by high temperature
insitu annealing and high-temperature growth, monoclinic (100)-oriented ZrO2 thin films
were obtained. The full width at half maximum of ZrO2 (100) rocking curve was 0.4 arc
degree for 30-nm-thick films and the rms roughness for a 5&mgr;m by 5 &mgr;m AFM scan was 4 Å. The employment of epitaxial ZrO2 layer in the AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect
trasnsistor as a gate dielectric has resulted in the increase of the saturation-current density
and pinch-off voltage as well as in near symmetrical gate-drain I-V behavior.
Growth and polarity control of GaN and AlN on carbon-face SiC (C-SiC) by metalorganic vapor phase
epitaxy (MOVPE) are reported. The polarities of GaN and AlN layers were found to be strongly dependent
on the pre-growth treatment of C-SiC substrates. A pre-flow of trimethyaluminum (TMAl) or a very low
NH3/TMAl ratio resulted in Al(Ga)-polarity layers on C-SiC. Otherwise, N-polarity layers resulted. The
polarities of AlN and GaN layers were conveniently determined by their etching rate in KOH or H3PO4,
namely the etching rate on N-polarity is substantial larger, a method reported earlier. We suggest that the
Al adatoms form several Al adlayers on C-SiC and change the incorporation sequence of Ga(Al) and N
leading to a metal polarity surface. In addition, the hexagonal pyramids, typical on N-polarity GaN surface,
are absent on N-polarity GaN grown on off-axis C-SiC owing to high density of terraces on the substrate
surface. The properties of GaN layers grown on C-SiC have been studied by X-ray diffraction and are
reported in this paper.
Surface properties of GaN subjected to reactive ion etching and the impact on device performance have been investigated by surface potential, optical and electrical measurements. Different etching conditions were studied and essentially high power levels and low chamber pressures resulted in higher etch rates accompanying with the
roughening of the surface morphology. Surface potential for the as-grown c-plane GaN was found to be in the range of 0.5~0.7 V using Scanning Kevin Probe Microscopy. However, after reactive ion etching at a power level of 300 W, it decreased to 0.1~0.2 V. A nearly linear reduction was observed on c-plane GaN with increasing power. The nonpolar a-plane GaN samples also showed large surface band bending before and after etching. Additionally, the intensity of the near band-edge photoluminescence decreased and the free carrier density increased after etching. These results suggest that the changes in the surface potential may originate from the formation of possible nitrogen vacancies and other surface oriented defects and adsorbates. To recover the etched surface, N2 plasma, rapid thermal annealing, and etching in wet KOH were performed. For each of these methods, the surface potential was found to increase by 0.1~0.3 V, also the reverse leakage current in Schottky diodes fabricated on treated samples was reduced considerably compared with as-etched samples, which implies a partial-to-complete recovery from the plasma-induced damage.
Optical properties of ZnO doped with Mn and V were studied. Zn(Mn)O layers were grown by peroxide MBE, and Zn(V)O was prepared by high-dose ion implantation of bulk ZnO prepared by hydrothermal technique. The Zn(Mn)O layers containing up to 50% of Mn were characterized by high-resolution x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and optical absorption. A blue shift of the band edge revealed from optical absorption measurements points to the incorporation of at least a part of Mn atoms on the lattice sites. An increase in the Zn(Mn)O band gap and an enhancement of the broad below band gap absorption associated with Mn ions were observed with increasing Mn composition. Correlating structural and optical transmission data, we suggest that the band edge of Zn(Mn)O rises linearly with the amount of Mn ions substituting Zn on the lattice sites. Photoluminescence of ZnO moderately doped with Mn shows several emission lines (the strongest ones are located at 3.34 and 3.36 eV). Surprisingly, no shift in the near-band-edge emission (3.36 eV) was detected in the photoluminescence data. Photoluminescence excitation studies revealed that the near-band-edge peak and the peak centered around 3.34 eV have different origin. Most probably, the second line is due to Mn intracenter transitions. Photoluminescence studies of ZnO bulk samples implanted with V+ have revealed that thermal annealing at 800 °C restores to a large extent the optical quality of the material. A new emission line centered at 3.307 eV has been found in the photoluminescence spectrum of the highly conductive samples implanted with a V dose of 1 × 1016 cm-2.
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