Materials Science Forum Vols. 615-617

Abstract: GaN/SiC Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBTs) with ultra-thin AlN insertion layers at the n-GaN/p-SiC emitter junction are proposed to improve carrier injection efficiency. The current-voltage characteristics of n-GaN/AlN/p-SiC heterojunctions have exhibited very small reverse leakage and good rectification. The capacitance-voltage measurement have revealed that the conduction band offset between n-GaN and p-SiC has been reduced from -0.74 eV to -0.54 eV by insertion of AlN, indicating that the GaN/AlN/SiC heterojunction may show better electron-injection efficiency. A significantly improved common-base current gain (α~0.2) is obtained for GaN/AlN/SiC HBTs with initial N* pre-irradiation, while it was very low (α~0.001) for GaN/SiC HBTs without AlN layers.

Abstract: Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a promising substrate material for epitaxy of Al-rich III-nitrides to be employed, e.g., in deep-UV optoelectronic and high-power microwave devices. In this context, preparation of bulk AlN crystals by physical vapor transport (PVT) appears to be of most importance. In this work, seeded growth of AlN on (0001)-plane 6H-SiC substrates was investigated. SiC substrates with a diameter of 15 mm were used. AlN layers with thicknesses up to 3 mm were deposited at growth rates in the range of 10 to 40 μm/hour. Such templates provide large-area seeds, but they are often cracked, especially at thicknesses below 1mm. Besides cracks, other defects from the SiC seed propagate into the AlN layer and subsequently into the bulk AlN crystal. That is why, the aim of this work is to assess structural quality and defect content in thick AlN templates grown on (0001) plane SiC substrates. An optimum thickness-quality, the most appropriate growth stage for further use of the AlN template as a seed for subsequent PVT growth of bulk AlN growth, will be provided. We found that low growth rates mitigate crack propagation; slow cooling as well as optimization of the thermal field inside the crucible can prevent formation of new cracks after growth.

Abstract: In order to achieve AlN bulk growth, HTCVD chlorinated process is investigated. High growth rate and high crystalline quality are targeted for AlN films grown on (0001) 4H SiC at 1750°C. The precursors used are ammonia NH3 and aluminium chlorides AlClx species formed in situ by action of Cl2 on high purity Al wire. Influences of N/Al ratio in the gas phase on growth rate, crystalline state and microstructure are presented. Growth rates of up to 200 µm/h have been reached for polycrystalline layers. Thermodynamic calculations were carried out and correlated to the experimental results. As-grown AlN layers were characterized by SEM and X-ray Diffraction. Surface morphology is studied by SEM and FEG-SEM and crystallographic orientations were obtained by X-ray diffraction on θ/2θ.

Abstract: Recent developments in producing large single crystal CVD diamond plates are reviewed. The developments consist of synthesis of large single crystal diamond and production of single crystal diamond plates from the bulk diamond by the lift-off process. Combining these developments, half-inch single crystal CVD diamond plates have been successfully produced.

Abstract: This paper describes the fabrication of Ni and Ti contacts to single crystal, boron-doped diamond. The electrical performance of metal-diamond contacts has been investigated using current-voltage I(V) characterization of circular transmission line model (CTLM) test structures. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of Ti/diamond contacts has been performed and is correlated with CTLM results. Post deposition annealing of metal-diamond contacts has a dramatic influence on contact resistivity, with lower resistances observed after annealing at 900°C. Specific contact resistances as low as 9 x 10-5 Ω.cm2 have been obtained. The effect of doping (via epitaxial growth and boron implantation) on metal-diamond contacts is also reported.

Abstract: Diamond is nominated as a material candidate for future high power device due to its superior material properties and resulting very high FOM. In this paper, our recent progresses and the expected possibilities of diamond for power electronics applications are introduced as short review. Firstly for the epitaxial growth, by adopting step-flow epitaxial growth by off- angle substrate with optimized growth conditions, we have succeeded in reducing these killer defects almost six orders from 106cm-2 to almost 100cm-2 levels. For the substrate, our recently developed technology to fabricate diamond plates from bulk, 12x13mm2 size are available to use, that can avoid fabrication difficulties with small size substrate. Secondly for the device, primitive studies showed possibly for the advantage of diamond such as low reverse leakage current, high temperature and high current density operation.

Abstract: Device size scaling of pseudo-vertical diamond Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) has been characterized for high-power device applications based on the control of doping concentration and thickness of the p- CVD diamond layer. Decreasing parasitic resistance on the p+ layer utilizing lithography and etching makes possible to get a constant specific on-resistance of less than 20 mOhm-cm2 with increasing device size up to 200 µm. However, the leakage current under low reverse bias conditions is increased markedly. Due to the increase in the leakage current, the reverse operation limit is decreased from 2.4 to 1.3 MV/cm when the device size is increased from 30 to 150 µm. If defects induce an increase in leakage current under the reverse conditions, the density of the defects can be estimated to be 104–105/cm2. This value is 5–10 times larger than the density of dislocations in single crystal diamond substrate.