Theoretical study of electron transport in gallium nitride

Abstract

This paper describes characteristic electron transport properties for GaN in bulk and quantum well structures. First, ensemble Monte Carlo calculations of steady-state electron drift velocity in bulk GaN are presented as a function of applied electric field for different lattice temperatures. At 300 K, the calculated peak steady-state drift velocity is 2.8×107 cm/s and the threshold field is 160 kV/cm. It is found that the peak steady-state electron drift velocity decreases only slightly by about 20% as the temperature increases from 300 to 600 K while the threshold field increases slightly by about 20%. Therefore, in addition to its high temperature stability, GaN has a low temperature coefficient making it ideal for high temperature applications. For electron transport in heterostructures, quantum mechanical calculations of the electron capture rate in GaN-based quantum wells as a function of well thickness are also presented. An oscillatory behavior of the electron capture rate as a function of quantum well thickness is observed. It is found that the electron capture time oscillates between 2 and 30 ps, which is about an order of magnitude greater than capture times in GaAs quantum wells. The amplitude of oscillations decreased as the well thickness increased. These results suggest that electron transport and carrier collection in GaN are efficient processes for improved electronic and optoelectronic devices.