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For rooting the development of GaN-based optoelectronic devices, understanding the roles of midgap recombination centers (MGRCs), namely, nonradiative recombination centers and deep-state radiative recombination centers, on the carrier recombination dynamics is an essential task. By using the combination of time-resolved photoluminescence and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) measurements, the origins of major MGRCs in the state-of-the-art GaN epilayers, bulk crystals, and Mg-implanted layers were identified, and their concentrations were quantified for deriving the capture coefficients of minority carriers. In this article, potential standardization of the room-temperature photoluminescence lifetime for the near-band-edge emission (τ PL RT ) as the concentration of major MGRCs well below the detection limit of PAS is proposed. For n-GaN substrates and epilayers grown from the vapor phase, τ PL RT was limited by the concentration of carbon on N sites or divacancies comprising a Ga vacancy (VGa) and a N vacancy (VN), [VGaVN], when carbon concentration was higher or lower, respectively, than approximately 1016 cm−3. Here, carbon and VGaVN act as major deep-state radiative and nonradiative recombination centers, respectively, while major MGRCs in bulk GaN crystals were identified as VGa(VN)3 vacancy clusters in Na-flux GaN and VGa or VGaVN buried by a hydrogen and/or VGa decorated with oxygen on N sites, VGa(ON)3–4, in ammonothermal GaN. The values of τ PL RT in n-GaN samples are compared with those of p-GaN, in which τ PL RT was limited by the concentration of VGa(VN)2 in Mg-doped epilayers and by the concentrations of VGaVN and (VGaVN)3 in Mg-implanted GaN right after the implantation and after appropriate activation annealing, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical properties of semi-insulating GaN substrates doped with iron (Fe), carbon (C), or manganese (Mn) grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy are presented. Hall effect measurements were performed at temperatures ranging from 300 to 800 K. At all of the investigated temperatures, the Mn-doped samples exhibited the highest resistivity. The Fe-doped samples showed n-type conduction, whereas the C-doped samples and the Mn-doped sample with a Mn concentration of 1 × 1019 cm−3 showed p-type conduction. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of the carrier concentration showed that all of the impurities formed acceptor levels at EC −(0.59–0.61) eV for Fe, at EV +(0.90–1.07) eV for C, and at EV +1.55 eV for Mn. The Mn-doped sample with a Mn concentration of 8 × 1017 cm−3 showed a negative Hall coefficient (suggesting n-type conduction) at high temperatures, contradicting the formation of acceptor levels by Mn. We successfully explained the negative value by considering the conduction of both holes and electrons with different mobilities. On the basis of the results, we calculated the relationship between the resistivity and doping concentration for each dopant. The calculations indicated that the highest resistivity can be realized in Mn-doped GaN with an optimized doping concentration (depending on the residual donor concentration). All of the dopants can effectively realize high resistivity at room temperature. Mn is an effective dopant for attaining high resistivity, especially at high temperatures (e.g., 800 K). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P-type doping in selected areas of gallium nitride (GaN) using magnesium (Mg)-ion implantation and subsequent ultra-high-pressure annealing (UHPA) are investigated to improve the performance of vertical GaN power devices. UHPA allows a high-temperature process without decomposition of the GaN surface and virtually complete activation of the implanted Mg ions in GaN. In the present paper, we provide an overview of recent challenges in making UHPA more realistic as an industrial process. Instead of UHPA at more than 1400 °C for a short duration, prolonged UHPA at 1300 °C demonstrates a comparable acceptor activation of Mg-ion-implanted GaN. This can reduce the annealing pressure to approximately 300 MPa and enlarge the processable wafer diameter. The second challenge is controlling the doping profiles in the lateral and vertical directions. We demonstrate fine patterning of the p-type regions, which indicates the limited lateral diffusion of Mg through UHPA. However, controlling the vertical doping profile is challenging. The nitrogen vacancies formed by ion implantation reduce the effective acceptor concentration near the surface, which can be compensated for by sequential nitrogen ion implantation. Defect-assisted Mg diffusion to the deeper region causes a redistribution of the Mg atoms and should be considered in the design of a device. Such anisotropic diffusion of Mg to the c-axis has potential applications in the fabrication of unique vertical device structures such as super junctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We carried out atomic-scale observations of Mg-ion-implanted GaN by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) to clarify the crystallographic structures of extended defects and Mg agglomerations that form during post-implantation annealing. The complementary TEM and APT analyses have shown that Mg atoms agglomerate at dislocations that bound extended defects. The concentration of Mg is higher at the dislocations with a larger Burgers vector. This indicates that Mg agglomeration is caused by the pressure at the dislocations. Mg concentration in highly Mg-rich regions is 1 at. %, which exceeds the solubility limit of Mg in GaN. We investigated isothermal and isochronal evolution of the defects by TEM, cathodoluminescence analysis, and positron annihilation spectroscopy. The results indicated that the intensity of donor–acceptor pair emission increases with the annealing temperature and duration and reaches a maximum after elimination of the extended defects with highly Mg-rich regions. These results strongly suggest that such extended defects reduce the acceptor formation and that they as well as the previously reported compensating centers, such as N-related vacancies, can inhibit the formation of p-type GaN. The mechanism by which the extended defects reduce acceptor formation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron traps generated during the reactive ion etching (RIE) process in n-type 4H-SiC are investigated using the deep-level transient spectroscopy technique and isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy (ICTS) technique. Two electron traps of the Z1/2 center (E C − 0.64 eV) and the EH3 center (E C − 0.74 eV) are detected in the RIE-etched sample by ICTS measurement at 300 K. A method is proposed to determine the depth profiles of the electron traps that are localized near the etched surface, whereby a depth profile is extracted from the dependence of averaged trap density on the depletion layer width. An exponential distribution is assumed as the depth profile of the electron traps generated during the RIE process. The extracted depth profile was confirmed to be consistent with that determined by the double-correlation method. An appropriate function for the depth profile of carrier traps is assumed and the dependence of the averaged trap density on the depletion layer width is analyzed, which enables the extraction of a depth profile that has both higher depth resolution and higher resolution in the carrier trap density with the proposed method than that with the double-correlation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avalanche multiplication characteristics in a reverse-biased homoepitaxial GaN p–n junction diode are experimentally investigated at 223–373 K by novel photomultiplication measurements utilizing above- and below-bandgap illumination. The device has a non-punch-through one-side abrupt p–-n+ junction structure, in which the depletion layer mainly extends to the p-type region. For above-bandgap illumination, the light is absorbed at the surface p+-layer, and the generated electrons diffuse and reach the depletion layer, resulting in an electron-injected photocurrent. On the other hand, for below-bandgap illumination, the light penetrates a GaN layer and is absorbed owing to the Franz–Keldysh effect in the high electric field region (near the p–n junction interface), resulting in a hole-induced photocurrent. The theoretical (non-multiplicated) photocurrents are calculated elaborately, and the electron- and hole-initiated multiplication factors are extracted as ratios of the experimental data to the calculated values. Through the mathematical analyses of the multiplication factors, the temperature dependences of the impact ionization coefficients of electrons and holes in GaN are extracted and formulated by the Okuto–Crowell model. The ideal breakdown voltage and the critical electric field for GaN p–n junctions of varying doping concentration are simulated using the obtained impact ionization coefficients, and their temperature dependence and conduction-type dependence were discussed. The simulated breakdown characteristics show good agreement with data reported previously, suggesting the high accuracy of the impact ionization coefficients obtained in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication processes of p-type regions for vertical GaN power devices are investigated. A p-type body layer in a trench gate metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor requires precise control of the effective acceptor concentration, which is equal to the difference between the Mg acceptor concentration (Na) and the compensating donor concentration (Nd). The carbon atoms incorporated during growth via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy substitute nitrogen sites (CN) and function as donor sources in a p-type GaN layer. Since interstitial H atoms (H i) also compensate holes, their removal from an Mg-doped layer is crucial. Extended anneals to release H atoms cause the formation of extra hole traps. The p+ capping layer allows effective and rapid removal of H atoms from a p-type body layer owing to the electric field across the p+/p– junction. On the other hand, selective area p-type doping via Mg ion implantation is needed to control the electrical field distribution at the device edge. Ultrahigh-pressure annealing (UHPA) under a nitrogen pressure of 1 GPa enables post-implantation annealing up to 1753 K without thermal decomposition. Cathodoluminescence spectra and Hall-effect measurements suggest that the acceptor activation ratio improves dramatically by annealing above 1673 K as compared to annealing at up to 1573 K. High-temperature UHPA also induces Mg atom diffusion. We demonstrate that vacancy diffusion and the introduction of H atoms from the UHPA ambient play a key role in the redistribution of Mg atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defects in Mg ion-implanted GaN epitaxial layers formed after annealing at 1573 K and at 1753 K were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Degradation of the GaN surface, which occurs at temperatures higher than about 1573 K, was avoided by ultra-high-pressure annealing under a N2 atmosphere at 1 GPa. Annealing for damage recovery in ion-implanted compound semiconductors generally requires temperatures at about two-thirds of their melting point, which is reportedly 2518 K or higher for GaN. Thus, defect analysis in ion-implanted GaN annealed at temperatures higher than 1573 K is necessary to understand the defect recovery. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that interstitial-type extended defects and inversion domains with Mg segregation were formed during the annealing at 1573 K. These defects were not observed in a sample annealed at 1753 K; instead, vacancy-type extended defects were formed. Such evolution of defects can be explained by previous theoretical studies that indicated that the migration energy of vacancy-type defects is higher than that of interstitial-type defects. Moreover, the formation of vacancy-type extended defects implies a reduction in the concentrations of vacancies and their complexes. Since the vacancies and their complexes can compensate for Mg acceptors, their reduced concentration should increase the acceptor activation efficiency. Also, the disappearance of Mg segregation during high-temperature annealing should increase the activation efficiency since the segregated Mg atoms are electrically inactive. It is thus concluded that the evolution of defects caused by high-temperature annealing above 1573 K increases the activation efficiency of acceptors in Mg ion-implanted GaN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production rate (PR = trap concentration/incident fluence) of traps formed by energetic particles is important for predicting device degradation caused by radiation when developing radiation-resistant devices. We demonstrate a clear correlation between non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) and PR of an electron trap at about 0.12–0.20 eV below the conduction band edge [EC − (0.12–0.20) eV] for various types of energetic particles in gallium nitride (GaN). NIEL values in GaN for electrons, protons, and α -rays were calculated using a screened-relativistic treatment, and NIEL values for gamma-rays were calculated by simulating slowed-down spectra due to shielding material. To obtain the PRs of the electron trap, 60Co gamma-rays with an average photon energy of 1.25 MeV and electron beams with energies from 137 keV to 2 MeV were irradiated onto n-type GaN Schottky barrier diodes. We measured the concentration of an electron trap at EC − (0.13–0.14) eV using deep-level transient spectroscopy. We also used the PRs of electron traps with similar energy levels of EC − (0.12–0.20) eV from previous studies on electrons, protons, and α -rays irradiated on GaN. All the trap PRs were proportional to the NIEL in a range of eight orders of magnitude, which confirms that the energy levels formed by various energetic particles have the same origin of being generated by atomic displacements. The obtained relationship coefficient between the NIEL and PRs of the trap is useful for predicting the degradation of GaN-based devices due to traps formed by various kinds of radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]