Defect characterization of heavy-ion irradiated AlInN/GaN on Si high-electron-mobility transistors

Abstract

The characteristic energies of traps in InAlN/AlN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor structures on Si(111) substrates formed after irradiation with 75 MeV S-ions is studied by means of c-lattice parameter analysis, vertical IV-characteristics, micro-photoluminescence (µ-PL), photocurrent (PC) and thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectroscopy. From the lattice parameter analysis, point defect formation is concluded as the dominant source of defects upon irradiation. A strong compensation effect mani-fests itself through enhanced resistivity of the devices as found in vertical IV- measure-ments. The defect formation is detected optically by an additional PL-band within the green spectral region while defect states with threshold energies at 2.9 eV and 2.65 eV were observed by PC spectroscopy. TSC spectra exhibit two defect-related emissions between 300 K and 400 K with thermal activation energies of 0.78-0.82 eV and 0.91-0.98 eV, respectively. The data further supports the formation of Ga vacancies (VGa) and related complexes acting mainly as acceptors compensating the originally undoped n-type GaN buffer layers after irradiation.

Influence of electrical field on the susceptibility of gallium nitride transistors to proton irradiation

“…The performance of GaN HEMTs is limited by high power density, thermomechanical stress, and high channel temperature and radiation can further exacerbate their performance [4,8]. Degradation due to radiation in GaN is typically inflicted by the excitations of the electron clouds more than displacement damage (DD) [9]. This raises a very important question: can the electrical field in a biased GaN device influence its susceptibility?…”

Investigation of the I–V characteristics of n+/n homojunctions introduced by heavy ion irradiation in CdZnTe crystals

“…In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have paid attention to heavy ion irradiation. [9][10][11] The interaction between low-energy heavy ions and CdZnTe crystals can modulate their electrical properties and surface structure. For example, O. Šik et al 12 passivated CdZnTe at a low dose of a 5 keV argon ion beam to reduce leakage current, and the best leakage current reduction effect was achieved at a dose of 1.4 × 10 16 n cm −2 .…”