Characterization of multiple carriers in GaN using variable magnetic-field hall measurements

Abstract

Variable magnetic-field Hall-effect measurements were performed on two thick GaN samples grown by hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE), one freestanding and one attached to the sapphire substrate. Results are compared to those obtained using the more standard, single magnetic-field Hall measurements. In both samples, a second low-mobility electron was indicated that significantly influenced interpretation of single-field Hall measurements, particularly at low temperatures. Extraction of the bulk carrier using fits to the variable-field Hall data allowed a more accurate determination of the temperature dependence of the bulk electrical properties and, hence, basic physical parameters. In addition, the quantitative mobility-spectrum analysis (QMSA) technique, reported here for the first time on GaN, indicated a continuous and significant spread in mobility for the bulk electron, likely with sample thickness. Thus, even the “improved” results, based on modeling the multiple-carrier fitting (MCF) analysis, obtained in this study should be viewed with some suspicion, as they clearly represent an average over an electrically inhomogeneous sample.