Correlation Between Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Mobility and Crystal Quality in AlGaN/GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistor Structure Grown on 4H-SiC.

We investigated the correlation between the crystal quality and two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) mobility of an AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structure grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. For the structure with an AlN nucleation layer grown at 1100 °C, the 2DEG mobility and sheet carrier density were 1627 cm²/V·s and 3.23 × 10¹³ cm⁻², respectively, at room temperature. Further, it was confirmed that the edge dislocation density of the GaN buffer layer was related to the 2DEG mobility and sheet carrier density in the AlGaN/GaN HEMT.

Inclined angle-controlled growth of GaN nanorods on m-sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition without a catalyst.

In this study, we have intentionally grown novel types of (11-22)- and (1-10-3)-oriented(3) and self-assembled inclined GaN nanorods (NRs) on (10-10) m-sapphire substrates using metal organic chemical vapor deposition without catalysts and ex situ patterning. Nitridation of the m-sapphire surface was observed to be crucial to the inclined angle as well as the growth direction of the GaN NRs. Polarity-selective KOH etching confirmed that both (11-22) and (1-10-3) GaN NRs are nitrogen-polar. Using pole figure measurements and selective area electron diffraction patterns, the epitaxial relationship between the inclined (11-22) and (1-10-3) GaN NRs and m-sapphire substrates was systematically demonstrated. Furthermore, it was verified that the GaN NRs were single-crystalline wurtzite structures. We observed that stacking fault-related defects were generated during the initial growth stage using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The blue-shift of the near band edge (NBE) peak in the inclined angle-controlled GaN NRs can be explained by a band filling effect through carrier saturation of the conduction band, resulting from a high Si-doping concentration; in addition, the decay time of NBE emission in (11-22)- and (1-10-3)-oriented NRs was much shorter than that of stacking fault-related emission. These results suggest that defect-free inclined GaN NRs can be grown on m-sapphire without ex situ treatment.

Growth of semipolar InGaN quantum well structure using self-organized nano-masks on m-sapphire.

This paper reports the improved microstructural and optical properties of semipolar (11-22) InGaN quantum well (QW) structures grown on SiO2 nanorods formed by introducing self-organized masks. The crystal quality of GaN grown on SiO2 nanorods was significantly improved by the defect blocking mechanism. The cathodoluminescence (CL) intensity of regrown GaN on SiO2 nanorods increased approximately 9.5 times in comparison with that of the reference GaN, which is attributed to the defect reduction effect of the nanorods. Semipolar InGaN/GaN double QWs grown on SiO2 nanorod masks showed an approximately 80% increase in internal quantum efficiency (IQE) in relation to that of the reference GaN.

Correlation between the Surface Undulation and Luminescence Characteristics in Semi-Polar 112¯2 InGaN/GaN Multi-Quantum Wells.

Surface undulation was formed while growing InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells on a semi-polar m-plane (1-100) sapphire substrate. Two distinct facets, parallel to 112¯2 and 011¯1, were formed in the embedded multi-quantum wells (MQWs). The structural and luminescence characteristics of the two facets were investigated using transmission electron microscopy equipped with cathodoluminescence. Those well-defined quantum wells, parallel and slanted to the growth plane, showed distinct differences in indium incorporation from both the X-ray yield and the contrast difference in annular darkfield images. Quantitative measurements of concentration in 011¯1 MQWs show an approximately 4 at% higher indium incorporation compared to the corresponding 112¯2 when the MQWs were formed under the same growth condition.

Microstructural Gradational Properties of Sn-Doped Gallium Oxide Heteroepitaxial Layers Grown Using Mist Chemical Vapor Deposition.

This study examined the microstructural gradation in Sn-doped, n-type Ga2O3 epitaxial layers grown on a two-inch sapphire substrate using horizontal hot-wall mist chemical vapor deposition (mist CVD). The results revealed that, compared to a single Ga2O3 layer grown using a conventional single-step growth, the double Ga2O3 layers grown using a two-step growth process exhibited excellent thickness uniformity, surface roughness, and crystal quality. In addition, the spatial gradient of carrier concentration in the upper layer of the double layers was significantly affected by the mist flow velocity at the surface, regardless of the dopant concentration distribution of the underlying layer. Furthermore, the electrical properties of the single Ga2O3 layer could be attributed to various scattering mechanisms, whereas the carrier mobility of the double Ga2O3 layers could be attributed to Coulomb scattering owing to the heavily doped condition. It strongly suggests the two-step-grown, lightly-Sn-doped Ga2O3 layer is feasible for high power electronic devices.

Overgrowth of Single Crystal Diamond Using Defect-Selective Etching and Epitaxy Technique in Chemical Vapor Deposition.

In this study, we demonstrated the defect-selective etching and epitaxy technique for defect reduction of a heteroepitaxial chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond substrate. First, an 8 nm layer of nickel was deposited on the diamond surface using an e-beam evaporator. Then, defect-selective etching was conducted through an in situ single process using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). After defect-selective etching, the diamond layer was overgrown by MPCVD. The defect density measured from the atomic force microscope image decreased from 3.27×108 to 2.02×108 cm-2. The first-order Raman peak of diamond shifted from 1340 to 1336 cm-1, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreased from 9.66 to 7.66 cm-1. Through the defect-selective etching and epitaxy technique, it was confirmed that the compressive stress was reduced and the crystal quality improved.

Deep-Ultraviolet AlGaN/AlN Core-Shell Multiple Quantum Wells on AlN Nanorods via Lithography-Free Method.

We report deep ultraviolet (UVC) emitting core-shell-type AlGaN/AlN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on the AlN nanorods which are prepared by catalyst/lithography free process. The MQWs are grown on AlN nanorods on a sapphire substrate by polarity-selective epitaxy and etching (PSEE) using high-temperature metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The AlN nanorods prepared through PSEE have a low dislocation density because edge dislocations are bent toward neighboring N-polar AlN domains. The core-shell-type MQWs grown on AlN nanorods have three crystallographic orientations, and the final shape of the grown structure is explained by a ball-and-stick model. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of MQWs grown on AlN nanorods is approximately 40 times higher than that of MQWs simultaneously grown on a planar structure. This result can be explained by increased internal quantum efficiency, large active volume, and increase in light extraction efficiency based on the examination in this study. Among those effects, the increase of active volume on AlN nanorods is considered to be the main reason for the enhancement of the PL intensity.

Improved carrier injection of AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light emitting diodes with graded superlattice electron blocking layers.

A DUV-LED with a graded superlattice electron blocking layer (GSL-EBL) is demonstrated to show improved carrier injection into the multi-quantum well region. The structures of modified EBLs are designed via simulation. The simulation results show the carrier behavior mechanism of DUV-LEDs with a single EBL (S-EBL), graded EBL (G-EBL), and GSL-EBL. The variation in the energy band diagram around the EBL region indicates that the introduction of GSL-EBL is very effective in enhancing carrier injection. Besides, all DUV-LEDs emitting at 280 nm are grown in the high temperature metal organic chemical deposition system. It is confirmed that the optical power of the DUV-LED with the GSL-EBL is significantly higher than that of the DUV-LED with the S-EBL and G-EBL.

Colour-crafted phosphor-free white light emitters via in-situ nanostructure engineering.

Colour-temperature (Tc) is a crucial specification of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) used in a variety of smart-lighting applications. Commonly, Tc is controlled by distributing various phosphors on top of the blue or ultra violet LED chip in conventional phosphor-conversion WLEDs (PC-WLEDs). Unfortunately, the high cost of phosphors, additional packaging processes required, and phosphor degradation by internal thermal damage must be resolved to obtain higher-quality PC-WLEDs. Here, we suggest a practical in-situ nanostructure engineering strategy for fabricating Tc-controlled phosphor-free white light-emitting diodes (PF-WLEDs) using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition. The dimension controls of in-situ nanofacets on gallium nitride nanostructures, and the growth temperature of quantum wells on these materials, were key factors for Tc control. Warm, true, and cold white emissions were successfully demonstrated in this study without any external processing.

GaN Epitaxial Layer Grown with Conductive Al(x)Ga(1-x)N Buffer Layer on SiC Substrate Using Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

This study investigated GaN epitaxial layer growth with a conductive Al(x)Ga(1-x)N buffer layer on n-type 4H-SiC by high-temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (HT-MOCVD). The Al composition of the Al(x)Ga(1-x)N buffer was varied from 0% to 100%. In terms of the crystal quality of the GaN layer, 79% Al was the optimal composition of the Al(x)Ga(1-x)N buffer layer in our experiment. A vertical conductive structure was fabricated to measure the current voltage (I-V) characteristics as a function of Al composition, and the I-V curves showed that the resistance increased with increasing Al concentration of the Al(x)Ga(1-x)N buffer layer.

Recent Advances in Nonpolar and Semipolar InGaN Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs).

The III-nitrides have attracted much attention because of their applicability in optoelectronic devices, whose emission wavelengths range from green to ultraviolet light due to their wide band gap. However, conventional c-plane GaN-based devices are influenced significantly by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization effects, which could pose a limitation for increased luminous efficiency as a result of the quantum confined stark effect. Since the early 2000s, many groups have tried to solve these problems by examining the growth of GaN on non- or semipolar surface planes. High power non- and semipolar LEDs can be realized by the growth of a thick active layer. In addition, it is expected that it is possible to grow nonpolar InGaN LEDs with high quality p-GaN layers due to lower hole activation energy, and also long-wavelength semipolar InGaN LEDs because of the capacity for high indium incorporation in the quantum wells (QWs). However, non- and semipolar structures grown on sapphire substrate usually contain a high density of basal stacking faults and threading dislocations. For this reason, the growth of non- and semipolar GaN-based LEDs on a sapphire substrate has been attempted through the introduction of defect reduction techniques such as epitaxial lateral overgrowth, patterned sapphire substrate and re-growth techniques on a porous GaN layer, etc. Also, some researchers have grown high quality non- and semipolar GaN-based LEDs using non- and semipolar freestanding GaN substrates. In this review paper, we introduce and discuss recent progress in the development of non- and semipolar GaN-based LEDs and freestanding GaN substrates.

Phosphor-free white-light emitters using in-situ GaN nanostructures grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition.

Realization of phosphor-free white-light emitters is becoming an important milestone on the road to achieve high quality and reliability in high-power white-light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, most of reported methods have not been applied to practical use because of their difficulties and complexity. In this study we demonstrated a novel and practical growth method for phosphor-free white-light emitters without any external processing, using only in-situ high-density GaN nanostructures that were formed by overgrowth on a silicon nitride (SiNx) interlayer deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The nano-sized facets produced variations in the InGaN thickness and the indium concentration when an InGaN/GaN double heterostructure was monolithically grown on them, leading to white-color light emission. It is important to note that the in-situ SiNx interlayer not only facilitated the GaN nano-facet structure, but also blocked the propagation of dislocations.

Fabrication of AIN Nano-Structures Using Polarity Control by High Temperature Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

This study investigates the crystallographic polarity transition of AIN layers grown by high temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (HT-MOCVD), with varying trimethylaluminum (TMAI) pre-flow rates. AIN layers grown without TMAI pre-flow had a mixed polarity, consisting of Al- and N-polarity, and exhibited a rough surface. With an increasing rate of TMAI pre-flow, the AIN layer was changed to an Al-polarity, with a smooth surface morphology. Finally, AIN nano-pillars and nano-rods of Al-polarity were fabricated by etching a mixed polarity AIN layer using an aqueous KOH solution.

High Quality Al-Polar AIN Growth on (0001) Sapphire Using Polarity-Selective Thermal Etching by High Temperature Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

In this study, we suggest a polarity-selective in-situ thermal etching and re-growth process for the fabrication of high quality Al terminated AIN epilayers by high temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Mixed-polar AIN layers grown on a thin (5 nm) buffer layer at a high temperature (950 degrees C) exhibited high crystalline quality. Surface morphologies of in-situ thermally etched AIN layers depended on the grain size and distance between grains. Increasing the initial grain size and diminishing the space between grains increased etching depth and width. During re-growth, threading dislocations were bent and annihilated in the vicinity of voids, which were formed by lateral growth of Al-polar AIN regions after thermal etching. Finally, a high quality Al-polar AIN template, as verified by an aqueous KOH solution, was successfully fabricated.