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Gallium nitride is a highly promising wide band gap semiconductor with applications in high power electronic and optoelectronic devices. Among the devices considered for high power generation is the ubiquitous field‐effect transistors which require Schottky barriers for modulating the channel mobile charge. It is in this context that we have undertaken an investigation of likely metal‐GaN contacts. Here we report on the electrical conduction and other properties of Pt–GaN Schottky diodes. These Schottky diodes were fabricated using n‐GaN grown by the molecular beam epitaxy method. Both capacitance–voltage and current–voltage measurements have been carried out as a function of temperature to gain insight into the processes involved in current conduction. Based on these measurements, physical mechanisms responsible for electrical conduction at low and high voltages and temperatures have been suggested. Schottky barrier height determined from the current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements is close to 1.10 eV.

High quality GaN layer growth by reactive molecular beam epitaxy employing ammonia gas as a nitrogen source and with high growth rates (∼2 μm/h) is described. The high crystalline quality of the layer is evidenced by our recently reported modulation‐doped field‐effect transistors, GaN/AlGaN separate confinement heterostructures, GaN/AlGaN quantum wells, high quality Schottky contacts, long excitonic lifetime, and GaN epitaxial layers that exhibit only intrinsic transitions even with the second excited states of excitonic transitions visible in the emission spectra. The dependence of background carrier concentration and resistivity on substrate temperature is studied. The hexagonal nature of wurtzite GaN manifests itself as hexagonal features on the film, becoming as large as ∼5 μm with facets at high growth temperatures (e.g., 800 °C). For low V/III ratios, large hexagonal hillocks, with highly strained regions on them, are formed due to the localized preferential growth. The photoluminescence characteris...

A thermally stimulated current peak, occurring at 100 K for a heating rate of 0.4 K/s, has been found in semi‐insulating GaN grown by molecular beam epitaxy. This peak has contributions from two traps, with the main trap described by the following parameters: emission thermal activation energy E≂90±2 meV, effective capture cross‐section σ≂3±1×10−22 cm−2, and Nμτ≂3±1 × 1014 cm−1 V −1, where N is the trap concentration, μ the mobility, and τ the free‐carrier lifetime. This trap is much deeper than the typical shallow donors in conducting GaN, but shallower than any of the centers reported in recent deep level transient spectroscopy measurements.

A new metallization scheme has been developed for obtaining very low Ohmic contact to n‐GaN. The metallization technique involves the deposition of a composite metal layer Ti/Al/Ni/Au (150 A/2200 A/400 A/500 A) on n‐GaN preceded by a reactive ion etching (RIE) process which most likely renders the surface highly n type. Of the several attempts and with annealing at 900 °C for 30 s, contacts with specific resistivity values of ρs=8.9×10−8 Ω cm2 or lower for a doping level of 4×1017 cm−3 were obtained. The physical mechanism underlying the realization of such a low resistivity is elucidated.