Obtaining uniform silicon concentration, especially with low concentrations (ranging from 1 × 1016 to 1 × 1018 cm−3) by molecular beam epitaxy, has been challenging due to oxidation of a silicon solid source in the oxide environment. In this work, Si doping of β-Ga2O3 (010) films by diluted disilane as the Si source is investigated using hybrid plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The impact of growth temperature, disilane source concentration, and disilane flow rate on Si incorporation was studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Uniform Si concentrations ranging from 3 × 1016 to 2 × 1019 cm−3 are demonstrated. Si-doped β-Ga2O3 films with different silicon concentrations were grown on Fe-doped β-Ga2O3 (010) substrates. The electron concentration and mobility were determined using van de Pauw Hall measurements. A high mobility of 135 cm2/V s was measured for an electron concentration of 3.4 × 1017 cm−3 at room temperature.
28 May 2024 in IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters
A stack of TiN/Ru was employed as the Schottky gate metal for a nitrogen-polar deep-recess GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) on a sapphire substrate. TiN/Ru Schottky diodes fabricated on the same HEMT epitaxy demonstrated a 6 $\times$ reduction in reverse-bias leakage current compared to Ru-only counterparts. The addition of TiN also resulted in a clear improvement in breakdown voltage for scaled N-polar Schottky gate HEMTs, as measured by the drain-current injection method (DCI). TiN HEMTs exhibited a peak $\textit{g}_{\text{\textit{m},dc}}$ of 843 mS/mm. A HEMT with a gate length ( $L_{\text{\textit{g}}}$ ) of 50 nm demonstrated a peak $\textit{g}_{\text{\textit{m},RF}}$ of 1028 mS/mm, peak $f_{t}$ of 193 GHz, and peak $f_{\max}$ of 362 GHz. Load–pull was measured at 94 GHz with a $V_{\text{DS}}$ of 12 V and $I_{\text{DS}}$ of 250 mA/mm. The TiN HEMT demonstrated a power added efficiency (PAE) of 53.4%—a record for N-polar GaN at $W$ -band. The associated output power density was 3.7 W/mm, and the linear power gain (G $_{\text{\textit{p}}}$ ) was an exceptional 10.2 dB.
Achieving high-quality, relaxed InGaN substrates for longer-wavelength light emitting diodes (LEDs) is of great interest for the development of micro-LED based display technology. This work demonstrates molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown In0.2Ga0.8N with a strain relaxation of 60% corresponding to an equivalently fully relaxed In composition of 12%. This was done by growing on a GaN-on-porous GaN pseudo-substrate (PS). The surface morphology of this film was found to be free of V-defects on the surface and with a threading dislocation density comparable to that of the GaN layers beneath. While InGaN grown on planar GaN-on-sapphire substrates remained nearly strained to the GaN underlayer, InGaN grown under identical conditions on PS displayed elastic-like relaxation. Furthermore, an increase in indium (In) composition was observed for the InGaN grown on PS. Where past work of InGaN grown on porous GaN PS by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition also resulted in relaxed InGaN templates suitable for device application, the surfaces of these relaxed films exhibited V-defects for thicker layers. Employing MBE, thicker films with higher In composition can be achieved with smooth surface morphology, thus enabling pseudo-substrates with a wide range of lattice constants. These pseudo-substrates of varying in-plane lattice constant are attractive for III-nitride based optoelectronics, particularly for green, amber, and red micro-LEDs.
31 May 2023 in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A
In the present study, thermal stability of α-Ga2O3 under vacuum and ambient pressure conditions was investigated in situ by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was observed that the thermal stability of α-Ga2O3 increased by 200 °C when pressure was lowered from an atmospheric to a vacuum level. This finding can be explained by oxygen diffusion under different oxygen partial pressures. In addition, in situ TEM imaging revealed that, once past the decomposition temperature, the onset of phase change propagates from the top crystal surface and accumulates strain, eventually resulting in a fractural film. The mechanism of α-Ga2O3 to β-Ga2O3 transition is evaluated through experiments and is discussed in this manuscript.
N-polar GaN HEMT technology has emerged as a disruptive technology that outperforms Ga-polar GaN HEMTs in terms of high-frequency power amplification capability. In this paper, the authors present a comprehensive review of the evolution of N-polar GaN HEMT technology from the perspective of crystal growth, dielectrics, and metals on N-polar GaN, transistor design, and performance. Specifically, the authors discuss the progress of the N-polar GaN HEMTs toward high-frequency, high-power, and high-efficiency applications with recent record-level performances, demonstrated by the authors, at mmWave frequencies.