Selectively activated p-type regions are necessary for many electronic devices that require planar processing. The standard process of implanting p-type dopants, such as Mg, in GaN is notoriously more difficult than in other material systems, as the extremely high temperatures required to activate the implanted Mg also damage the GaN surface. In this research, a novel annealing technique is introduced for this purpose -symmetric multicycle rapid thermal annealing (SMRTA). It is shown that SMRTA is superior to the earlier developed multicycle rapid thermal annealing (MRTA) in terms of improvement of the crystalline quality of implanted GaN. The SMRTA technique was applied to Mg-implanted GaN to realize a rectifying junction. The annealing process detailed in this research will be a key enabling step for future GaN-based GaN and other III-nitride based semiconductors have received a great deal of attention from the research community due to favorable material properties which include a tunable direct bandgap, radiation hardness, and a favorable Baliga figure of merit compared to Si and SiC.1,2 The doping of p-type GaN during growth is challenging and has been the focus of numerous studies because it has many potential transformative applications in power electronics and optoelectronics.3 P-type dopant implantation and activation adds additional complexity to the synthesis of p-type GaN. The ability to implant and activate p-type species in GaN is a key enabling process for devices that require selective area doping. Device structures that benefit from the ability to selectively implant and activate p-type dopants in GaN include implanted guard rings for electric field spreading, implanted current blocking layers for current aperture vertical electron transistors, and implanted regions below contacts to lower contact resistance. 4,5 Unfortunately, the implantation and activation of Mg in GaN is difficult because of the high temperatures required (over 1300• C) for the activation anneal, 6 which are significantly higher than the decomposition temperature of GaN at atmospheric pressures (845 • C). 7 The decomposition of GaN occurs due to a loss of nitrogen and results in surface damage and the formation of N vacancies, which are compensating donors.
8To avoid GaN decomposition at the elevated annealing temperatures required for Mg activation, high pressure environments and non-equilibrium annealing conditions combined with capping layers have been investigated. 9,10 GaN can be successfully annealed at about 1500• C, but a 1.5 GPa overpressure of N 2 is necessary to avoid surface degradation.11 Such high gas pressures also require a complicated experimental setup and are not easily industrial scalable.
12A second, more scalable, alternative to the high pressure annealing of GaN relies on using non-equilibrium annealing conditions. For this type of annealing, a capping layer is used to prevent nitrogen loss from the GaN surface. Depending on the material, structure, and thickness of the capping layer, higher annealin...