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Processing Challenges for GaN-Based Photonic and Electronic Devices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

S. J. Pearton ,
F. Ren ,
R. J. Shul ,
J. C. Zolper  and
A. Katz
S. J. Pearton
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611
F. Ren
Affiliation:
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
R. J. Shul
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185
J. C. Zolper
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185
A. Katz
Affiliation:
EPRI, Palo Alto, CA 94304
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Abstract

The wide gap materials SiC, GaN and to a lesser extent diamond are attracting great interest for high power/high temperature electronics. There are a host of device processing challenges presented by these materials because of their physical and chemical stability, including difficulty in achieving stable, low contact resistances, especially for one conductivity type, absence of convenient wet etch recipes, generally slow dry etch rates, the high temperatures needed for implant activation, control of suitable gate dielectrics and the lack of cheap, large diameter conducting and semi-insulating substrates. The relatively deep ionization levels of some of the common dopants (Mg in GaN; B, Al in SiC; P in diamond) means that carrier densities may be low at room temperature even if the impurity is electrically active - this problem will be reduced at elevated temperature, and thus contact resistances will be greatly improved provided the metallization is stable and reliable. Some recent work with CoSix on SiC and W-alloys on GaN show promise for improved ohmic contacts. The issue of unintentional hydrogen passivation of dopants will also be covered - this leads to strong increases in resistivity of p-SiC and GaN, but to large decreases in resistivity of diamond. Recent work on development of wet etches has found recipes for AlN (KOH), while photochemical etching of SiC and GaN has been reported. In the latter cases p-type materials is not etched, which can be a major liability in some devices. The dry etch results obtained with various novel reactors, including ICP, ECR and LE4 will be compared - the high ion densities in the former techniques produce the highest etch rates for strongly-bonded materials, but can lead to preferential loss of N from the nitrides and therefore to a highly conducting surface. This is potentially a major problem for fabrication of dry etched, recessed gate FET structures.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 468: Symposium D – Gallium Nitride and Related Materials II , 1997 , 331
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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