Recent Advancement in Charge and Photo-Assisted Non-Contact Electrical Characterization of SiC, GaN, and AlGaN/GaN HEMT

Abstract

The charge-based corona-Kelvin noncontact metrology, originally developed for Si IC fabrication, has recently been extended to wide energy gap semiconductors. We discuss principles of this extension and key applications, namely: high precision dopant measurement on SiC and GaN; two-dimensional electron gas characterization in AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures; interface and dielectric characterization on epi-layers with SiO2, SiN and Al2O3; comprehensive interfacial instability characterization of oxidized SiC; and whole wafer mapping of defects with a charge-assisted surface voltage technique. This powerful set of measurements is performed without fabrication of any test structures or electrical contact. Corresponding commercial tools are currently being introduced. Based on the historical example of silicon IC, we believe that this approach shall offer enhanced testing for research and for manufacturing process control with reduced cost and fast data feedback benefiting the wide-bandgap device technology.