LP-MOCVD growth of GaAlN/GaN heterostructures on Silicon Carbide. Application to HEMT's devices.

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on the LP-MOCVD growth optimisation of GaAlN/GaN heterostructures grown on Silicon Carbide substrates for HEMT applications, and on the first device performances obtained with these structures. The critical impact of some growth parameters on the physical properties of the GaAlN/GaN epilayers has been identified and studied using High Resolution X-Ray diffraction (HR-XRD), AFM, C-V and sonogauge measurements. The SiC substrate surface preparation (both ex-situ and in-situ) and the nucleation layer growth conditions (growth temperature, thickness, composition and strain) have been found to be key steps of the GaAlN/GaN/SiC growth process. SiC substrates from different suppliers have been evaluated and their influence on the physical properties of the GaAlN/GaN HEMT structures investigated. Static characteristics of the devices such as maximum drain current Idss or pinch-off voltage have been correlated with the nucleation layer composition of the HEMT structure and the defect density of the SiC substrate. First devices measured at 10 GHz using a load pull system exhibited CW output power in excess of 2.8 W/mm for a gate length of 0.5 μm. Under static measurements, we found an Idss around 1 A/mm and a pinch-off voltage of –5 V.