Structural transformations in Ni/Si-based contacts to GaN occurring under heat treatment have been studied using transmission electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. Transition from non-ohmic to ohmic behavior correlates with reaction between Ni and Si, and decomposition of the initially formed interfacial Ni:Ga:N layer. Transport of dopant atoms from metallization into GaN testifies in favour of the SPR process of ohmic contact formation

We have developed a method to modulate the strain state (normally > 4 kbar, tensile) of moderately thick (∼2 μm) GaN based structures grown on 6H-SiC to a range 0 to -2 kbar of compressive stresses by introducing a strain-mediating layer (SML) above the standard high-temperature AlN buffer layer. The strain characteristics of subsequently deposited nitride layers can be modulated by changing the growth parameters of the SML layer. This is achieved by in-situ techiniques during crystal growth without degrading the optical and structural properties of the deposited layers.

We have developed a method to modulate the strain state (normally > 4 kbar, tensile) of moderately thick (∼2 μm) GaN based structures grown on 6H-SiC to a range 0 to -2 kbar of compressive stresses by introducing a strain-mediating layer (SML) above the standard high-temperature AlN buffer layer. The strain characteristics of subsequently deposited nitride layers can be modulated by changing the growth parameters of the SML layer. This is achieved by in-situ techiniques during crystal growth without degrading the optical and structural properties of the deposited layers.

Structural transformations in Ni/Si-based contacts to GaN occurring under heat treatment have been studied using transmission electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. Transition from non-ohmic to ohmic behavior correlates with reaction between Ni and Si, and decomposition of the initially formed interfacial Ni:Ga:N layer. Transport of dopant atoms from metallization into GaN testifies in favour of the SPR process of ohmic contact formation

We present the results of experimental studies of the strain effects on the excitonic transitions in GaN epitaxial layers on sapphire and SiC substrates. Photoluminescence and reflectance spectroscopies were performed to measure the energy positions of exciton transitions and X-ray diffraction measurements were conducted to examine the lattice parameters of GaN epitaxial layers grown on different substrates. Residual strain induced by the mismatch of lattice constants and thermal-expansion between GaN epitaxial layers and substrates was found to have a strong influence in determining the energies of excitonic transitions. The overall effects of the strain generated in GaN is compressive for GaN grown on sapphire and tensile for GaN on SiC substrate. The uniaxial and hydrostatic deformation potentials of wurtzite GaN were derived from the experimental results. Our results yield the uniaxial deformation potentials b1≈−5.3 eV and b2≈2.7 eV, as well as the hydrostatic components a1≈−6.5 eV and a2≈−11.8 eV.

The electron affinity of a semiconductor defines the relationship of the vacuum level and the semiconductor band structure. It is dependent on the atomic orbitals of the material and the surface termination. We report experimental and theoretical results that support the presence of a negative electron affinity on AlN and the Al rich AlGaN alloys. The GaN surface is found to exhibit a (positive) electron affinity of 3.3eV. The experimental measurements employ UV-photoemission spectroscopy on in situ gas-source MBE samples and on CVD samples. Theoretical results indicate that the (negative) electron affinity of AlN depends sensitively on the surface reconstruction and adatom termination. The experimental dependence of the electron affinity on alloy concentration is presented. The results indicate that AlGaN alloys with band gap similar or greater than that of diamond will exhibit a negative electron affinity. Field emission results are reported, and the characteristics are similar to those obtained from a diamond film. Issues related to cold cathode electronic devices based on NEA surfaces are noted.

Photoluminescence (PL) and optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) experiments have been performed on undoped GaN epitaxial layers grown on 6H-SiC substrates. The defects observed in these films are compared with those found from previous ODMR studies of undoped GaN layers grown on sapphire substrates. Strong, sharp donor-bound exciton bands at 3.46 -3.47 eV and weak, broad emission bands at 2.2 eV were observed from several 0.7 and 2.6 μm-thick films. In addition, fairly strong shallow donor - shallow acceptor (SD-SA) recombination with a zero-phonon-line at 3.27 eV was found for GaN layers less than 1 μm-thick. The first observation of magnetic resonance on this SD-SA recombination from undoped GaN is reported in this work. Two magnetic resonance features attributed to effective-mass (EM) and deep-donor (DD) states were detected on the 2.2 eV emission bands from all the GaN/6H-SiC films. These resonances were observed previously on similar emission from undoped GaN layers grown on sapphire substrates. The same EM donor resonance, though much weaker, was also found on the SD-SA recombination. However, a resonance associated with shallow acceptor states was not observed on this emission. The weakness of the donor resonance arises from the weak spin-dependence of the recombination mechanism involving spin-thermalized shallow acceptors. The absence of an EM acceptor is due to the broadening of the resonance through the spreading of the acceptor g-values by random strains in these films.

Monocrystalline AlxGa1−xN(0001) (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.70) thin films, void of oriented domain structures and associated low-angle grain boundaries, have been grown at high temperatures via OMVPE directly on vicinal and on-axis α(6H)-SiC(0001) wafers using TEG, TEA and ammonia in a cold-wall, vertical, pancake-style reactor. The surface morphologies were smooth and die densities and distributions of dislocations were comparable to that observed in GaN(0001) films grown on high temperature A1N buffer layers. Double-crystal XRC measurements showed a FWHM value as low as 186 arc sec for the (0002) reflection. Spectra obtained via CL showed strong near band-edge emissions with FWHM values as low as 31 meV. The compositions of the AlxGa1−xN films were determined using EDX, AES and RBS and compared to the values of the bandgap as measured by spectral ellipsometry and CL emissions. A negative bowing parameter was found. Controlled n-type, Si-doping of AlxGa1−xN for x ≤ 0.4 has been achieved with net carrier concentrations ranging from ≈ 2 × 1017 cm−3 to 2 × 1019 cm−3. Acceptor doping with Mg for x < 0.13 was also successful.