Effect of surface treatment of printed Ag Schottky contacts on n-GaN epitaxial layers using Ag nanoink: Two dimensional characterization by scanning internal photoemission microscopy

Abstract

We report the basic electrical characteristics of Ag Schottky contacts printed on n-GaN epitaxial wafers using Ag nanoink with surface treatment using HCl or an organic solvent. The Ag Schottky contacts treated with HCl showed better current–voltage characteristics and a larger Schottky barrier height than those treated with the organic solvent. Scanning internal photoemission microscopy revealed that the HCl-treated samples exhibited a higher uniformity owing to their higher wettability to the Ag nanoink and electrodes than the organic-solvent-treated samples. These results indicate that the removal of surface oxide layers using HCl is effective even though the GaN surface is printed and annealed in air.