Transfer Length Method Research Articles

The study on influence factors of contact properties of metal-MoS2 interfaces

The metal and two-dimension (2D) semiconductor contact interfaces have a more considerable contact resistance hindering carrier injection, which makes the performance of 2D semiconductor devices less than the theory. The contact properties of Ni, Au, and Mo with MoS2 are simulated by the first-principles method. The interface dipole caused by the interface charge redistribution changes the work function difference at the metal-MoS2 interface, so the interface charge redistribution is one of the important factors for correctly evaluating the contact properties. Due to the metal-induced gap states (MIGS) at metal-monolayer (ML) MoS2 interfaces, the Fermi level is strongly pinned to fixed energy, and the Schottky barrier height (SBH) cannot be regulated efficiently by the metal work function. Although the work function of Au is bigger than Ni, the Fermi level of Au is pinned at a higher position. In the meantime, the bandgap of MoS2 narrows and metallization occurs due to the larger MIGS. In the Mo-MoS2 interface, the Fermi level is pinned near the conduction band minimum of MoS2. The contact resistances (Rc) of the three structures are tested by the Circular Transfer Length Method (CTLM), which is consistent with the prediction of the simulation. The Mo-MoS2 has the smallest Rc. The results indicate that contact resistance of 2D semiconductors cannot be simply predicted by soled work functions or Fermi level pinning, but is determined by several factors.

Schottky-contact intrinsic current blocking layer for high efficiency AlGaInP-based red mini-LEDs.

AlGaInP-based red light emitting diodes (LEDs) are considered as promising light sources in future full-color displays. At present, vertical chip configuration is still the mainstream device structure of AlGaInP-based red LEDs. However, current crowding around p-electrode severely hinders an efficient improvement. Here, we propose a Schottky-contact current blocking layer (SCBL) to enhance current spreading and to improve light extraction efficiency of AlGaInP-based red vertical miniaturized LEDs (mini-LEDs). By utilizing the Schottky contact between ITO and p-GaP, the SCBL can hinder current crowding around the p-electrode. The current is forced to inject into an active region through a p-GaP+ ohmic contact layer, avoiding light absorption by p-electrode. Through the transfer length method, the Schottky contact characteristics between the ITO and p-GaP as well as the ohmic contact characteristics between ITO and p-GaP+ are demonstrated. Benefiting from superior current spreading and improved light extraction, a mini-LED with SCBL realizes an enhancement of 31.8% in external quantum efficiency (EQE) at 20 mA in comparison with a mini-LED without SCBL.

Reducing the Metal-Graphene Contact Resistance through Laser-Induced Defects.

Graphene has been extensively studied for a variety of electronic and optoelectronic applications. The reported contact resistance between metal and graphene, or rather its specific contact resistance (R C), ranges from a few tens of Ω μm up to a few kΩ μm. Manufacturable solutions for defining ohmic contacts to graphene remain a subject of research. Here, we report a scalable method based on laser irradiation of graphene to reduce the R C in nickel-contacted devices. A laser with a wavelength of l = 532 nm is used to induce defects at the contact regions, which are monitored in situ using micro-Raman spectroscopy. Physical damage is observed using ex situ atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. The transfer length method (TLM) is used to extract R C from back-gated graphene devices with and without laser treatment under ambient and vacuum conditions. A significant reduction in R C is observed in devices where the contacts are laser irradiated, which scales with the laser power. The lowest R C of about 250 Ω μm is obtained for the devices irradiated with a laser power of 20 mW, compared to 900 Ω μm for the untreated devices. The reduction is attributed to an increase in defect density, which leads to the formation of crystallite edges and in-plane dangling bonds that enhance the injection of charge carriers from the metal into the graphene. Our work suggests laser irradiation as a scalable technology for R C reduction in graphene and potentially other two-dimensional materials.

Structures, electrical properties and catecholase-like activity of a series of new copper(II) coordination polymers supported by azido bridges

A series of new copper(II)-azido complexes of 1D polymeric chains of [Cu(L1)(μ1,3-N3)]n (1) and [Cu(L2)(μ1,3-N3)]n (2), and binuclear [Cu(L3)(μ1,1-N3)]2 (3) [HL1 = N-butyl-N-(5-bromosalcylidine)ethane-1,2-diamine, HL2 = N-butyl-N-(5-chlorosalcylidine)ethane-1,2-diamine, HL3 = N-butyl-N-(salcylidine)ethane-1,2-diamine] have been synthesized and characterized. Characterizations of 1–3 have been accomplished by usual physico-chemical techniques such as elemental analysis, FTIR, UV–vis and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. X-ray diffraction analyses of 1 and 2 reveal that the monomeric units of 1D polymers are interconnected via the μ1,3-azido bridging. The coordination geometry around the copper(II) centers in 1 and 2 can be best described as distorted square pyramidal environments. Complex 3 shows a centrosymmetric structure with two copper(II) centers that are held together by μ1,1-azido bridging in a distorted square pyramidal environment. In the electrical studies of 1–3, both direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac) analyses have been carried out based on the metal-complex (1/2/3)-metal (M-S-M) structures. The sheet resistance of the deposited films and the metal-complex contact resistance are estimated by employing transfer length method (TLM) measurements. The dark current-voltage characteristics of Al-complex (1/2/3)-Al structures are analyzed by considering dual back-to-back Schottky barrier diode structure. The voltage variations of the device current under illumination (400–700 nm) clearly demonstrate the photo-sensitivity of these materials. The catalytic activities of 1–3 have been investigated towards aerial oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol. All three complexes exhibit potential catalytic effectiveness towards oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol (3,5-DTBC) to 3,5-di-tert-butyl-o-quinone (3,5-DTBQ) with turnover numbers 14.76, 33.92 and 81.02 h−1 for 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

High temperature stability of regrown and alloyed Ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN heterostructure up to 500 °C

This Letter reports the stability of regrown and alloyed Ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) for high temperature applications up to 500 °C. Transfer length method (TLM) measurements from 25 to 500 °C in air show that the regrown contacts appear to be stable up to 500 °C during short term (approximately 1 h) testing, while alloyed contacts appear to decrease in contact resistance from 300 to 500 °C though increases in the error bounds due to increase sheet resistance make it difficult to conclude definitely. Additionally, longer term testing shows both technologies remain stable at least up to 48 h at 500 °C, after which the large increase in sheet resistance makes the measurement uncertainty too large to conclude definitively. Advanced microscopy images indicate both the regrown and alloyed contact regions remain structurally intact after prolonged high temperature exposure with no visible degradation in crystallinity or metal composition.

Selective chemical doping of carbon nanotube conductors to reduce contact resistance with copper in ultrasonic welds

Electrochemical devices such as batteries, fuel cells, and capacitors employing a carbon nanotube (CNT) electrode can be improved by lowering the contact resistance between CNTs and metallic contacts. The current work investigates two simultaneous strategies to enhance the contact by using chemical doping of CNTs with potassium tetrabromoaurate (KAuBr4) and ultrasonic welding to a metal foil. The specific contact resistivity was measured using the transfer length method (TLM) to evaluate CNT test structures having ultrasonically welded Cu contacts with and without KAuBr4 doping. Purified CNT-Cu samples had a specific contact resistivity of 5.4 mΩ cm2, whereas the KAuBr4 doped CNT-Cu samples were 2.2 mΩ cm2. Confirmation of selective doping to the weld region was made using measured differences in the emissivity of purified and KAuBr4 doped CNTs, which were 0.84 and 0.56, respectively. The lower contact resistance from KAuBr4 doped CNT-Cu ultrasonic welds also reduced the extent of Joule heating beyond the contact region when applying increasing current to failure in a 2-terminal test structure. The benefit of selectively doped CNT-Cu welds was demonstrated across rectangular ribbon and electrode form factors up to an area of 6 cm × 8 cm (typical of electrochemical pouch-cell current collectors). Each form factor showed a 1.5× reduction in peak temperature when selective doping of the CNTs was performed prior to ultrasonic welding of the Cu contact. Thus, the combination of selective doping and ultrasonic welding demonstrates a viable method to fabricate low electrical resistance between CNT electrodes and metallic contacts for electrochemical devices.

Effect of fabrication process on contact resistance and channel in graphene field effect transistors

Contact resistance, as one of the main parameters that limits the performance of graphene-based transistors, is highly dependent on the metal-graphene contact fabrication processes. These processes are investigated and the corresponding resistances are measured based on the transfer length method (TLM). In fabrication processes, when annealing is done on chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene samples that are transferred onto SiO2/Si substrates, the adhesion of graphene to the substrate is improved, and poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) residues are also reduced. When the metal deposition layer is first applied to the graphene, and then, the photolithography process is performed to define the electrodes and graphene sheet, the graphene-metal contact resistance is better than that in other methods due to the removal of photoresist residues. In fact, by changing the sequence of the fabrication process steps, the direct contact between photoresist and graphene surface can be prevented. Thus, the contact resistance is reduced and conductivity increases, and in this way, the performance of graphene transistor improves. The results show that the fabrication process has a noticeable effect on the transistor properties such as contact resistance, channel sheet resistance, and conductivity.‌ Here, by using the annealing process and changing the order of photolithography processes, a contact resistance of 470 Ω μm is obtained for Ni-graphene contact, which is relatively favorable.

Innovating in-situ characterization: a comprehensive measurement system for measuring the ZT and the contact resistance of vertical thermolegs exploiting the vertical transfer length method

In order to optimize their system design and manufacturing processes, it is crucial to undertake a thorough electrical and thermal characterization of micro thermoelectric generators (µTEGs). To address this need, a highly advanced and fully integrated in-situ measurement system has been developed. The main objectives of this system are to (1) enable the measurement of ZT and thereby of all thermoelectric (TE) properties of thermolegs made from powder-based TE materials and (2) at the same time accurately measure the contact resistance between the TE material and the electrical contacts. The µTEG fabrication concept used in this study is based on copper-cladded printed circuit board (PCB) material as a substrate, using the Cu layers for easy contact formation. In a first step, an innovative measurement concept, based on a distinctive vertical rendition of the well-established transfer length method, has been realized, allowing for the in-situ measurement of contact resistance between the TE material and the copper conductors on the PCB substrate. This enables a comprehensive assessment of the impact exerted by the applied force and temperature during e.g. a hot-pressing step for compacting the powder-based thermolegs during the manufacturing process. In a second step, a comprehensive measurement platform, referred to as the ZT-Card, has been devised to facilitate the evaluation of all relevant TE material properties—Seebeck voltage, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity (all measured in vertical cross-plane orientation)—inherent to a highly miniaturized thermoleg. Additionally, the ZT-Card also allows for the assessment of contact resistance between the copper contacts and the TE material. Successful testing of this measurement system inspires confidence in the capabilities of the platform and will aid in future µTEG development.

Quantification of the sheet resistance between two-dimensional semiconductors and semi-metals by a contact-end-resistance method

Semi-metal presents an extremely promising method for establishing an ohmic contact with near-quantum-limit contact resistance (Rc) in two-dimensional material (2DM) transistors. However, the physical mechanisms occurring at the interface between 2DMs and semi-metals, which contribute to Rc reduction, are not yet well understood. Leveraging on the contact-end-resistance model applied to the transfer length method structure, we conduct a quantitative and comprehensive characterization of the molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) contact interface with various contact metals. The sheet resistance beneath the semi-metal contact (Rsk) is found to be two orders of magnitude smaller than the sheet resistance of the channel (Rsh), validating the electron doping effect of semi-metals on MoS2 contact areas. Among semi-metals studied, including bismuth (Bi), antimony (Sb), and their alloy, Bi results in the highest electron doping density and the lowest Rsk of 764 Ω/◻, leading to an improvement in Rc down to 526 Ω μm. This work provides a perspective toward the physical mechanisms beneath the semi-metal induced Rc reduction, setting a strong foundation for devising strategies to lower the Rc in 2D-based devices.

How to Accurately Determine the Ohmic Contact Properties on n-Type 4H-SiC

The electrical properties of ohmic contacts are classically investigated by using the transfer length method (TLM). In the literature, the TLM patterns are fabricated onto different substrate configurations, especially directly onto the 4H-SiC wafers. But, due to the high doping level of commercial substrates, the current is not confined close to the contact and, in this case, the specific contact resistance (SCR) value is overestimated. In this article, we propose, by the means of simulations, to investigate the influence of the layer under the contact towards the estimation of the SCR. The simulation results highlight that, for an accurate determination of the SCR values, an isolation layer between the contact and the silicon carbide substrate is mandatory. Thus, we have determined the characteristics (doping level and thickness) of a suitable isolation layer compatible with SCR values ranging from 10−3 to 10−6 Ω·cm2.

Effect of Dry Etching to Improve Ohmic Contacts on Bulk, Lightly-Doped β-Ga2O3

Ti/Au is a typical Ohmic metal contact stack to n-type β-Ga2O3 but there have been few systematic studies of the use of pre-exposure of the surface to plasmas prior to metal deposition in order to lower the contact resistance. The effects of Cl2/Ar Inductively Coupled Plasma exposure of Ga2O3 surfaces prior to deposition of Ti/Au (20/80 nm) contacts were examined through circular transfer length method (CTLM) measurements to determine both the contact resistance and specific contact resistivity. ICP source power, which controls ion density in the plasma is found to be more important than ion energy (∼165–490 eV in these experiments). The plasma exposure improved specific contact resistivity by more than a factor of 2 in all cases for lightly n-type (1017 cm−3) Ga2O3 and a minimum value of 2 × 10−4 Ω.cm2 was obtained after heating at 550 °C.

Morphological and Electrical Characterization of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures Modified By Atomic Layer Etching

Modern microelectronic components for high-power and high-frequency applications based on III-V compound semiconductors offer high break down voltage (GaN: 5 MV/cm and AlN: 15 MV/cm) at low specific on-resistance. However, it requires reliability and reproducibility of the production processes. Going to higher frequencies (5 GHz and beyond) and more integration in consumer electronics, smaller structure sizes are needed. This is going along with increasing demands on the manufacturing processes like dry etching. The main goal is to reach smaller and high controllable etching rates, going down to single atomic layers, low damage, and minimized surface roughness. Atomic layer etching (ALE) represents a key technology in order to achieve such requirements.An ALE process consists of two independent steps forming a repeatable cycle with a specific etching amount per cycle (EPC). First a surface modification is done by a chemical precursor i.e., adsorbing or oxidizing the surface. The second step is the removal of the modified layer, either physically by low energy non-reactive ion bombardment (Plasma Enhanced ALE [PEALE]) or chemically by a reactive species (Thermal ALE). The two steps are separated by an inert gas purge. This purging grants the removal of the chemistry after the first step, preventing further chemical reaction and transporting the chemical products out of the chamber after the second step.In this study, a PEALE conducted on different tools is used, for gate and contact recess study in a AlGaN/GaN heterostructure to form high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) with reduced ohmic contact resistance and threshold voltages. The results show a reduction of ohmic contact resistance at reduced forming temperatures and a linear dependence of the threshold voltage on gate recess depth. In order to determine the etching rate and roughness, atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements were performed.The PEALE module is either integrated into a cluster tool consisting of atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or done in a combined ALD/ALE chamber. This opens the possibility of etching and depositing in-situ, reducing contamination and degradation of the substrate material.By this means, metal insulator semiconductor (MIS)-HEMTS with a recessed gate are studied. The monitoring of the individual processes is achieved by test structures like transfer length method structures (TLM) and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS), which showed the improved electric performance of these devices and may indicate unwanted interface issues, respectively. Additional, pre- and post-treatments could improve the interfaces further. The results will be presented and discussed in terms of ALE process development and optimization.This work was financially supported within the ALEStar project by the government of the Free-state of Saxony and the European Regional Development Fund under grant no. SAB 100402929.

Defining specifications for accurate Metal/TCO specific contact resistivity measurements by TLM in silicon heterojunction devices

Measuring specific contact resistivity (ρc) in test vehicles representative of the final solar cell is critical for interface engineering in high efficiency devices such as silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell. The Transfer Length Method (TLM) is commonly used for layer sheet resistance (Rsheet) and ρc evaluation and is valid for samples with charge transport confined in one conductive layer only. For metal/Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) interface ρc evaluation from SHJ cells precursors, there is a need to prevent any contribution from the conductive c-Si. In this work, we investigated by simulation and experimental approach the parameters restricting the current confinement inside the TCO. The first one is the mid-gap trap density (Dit) at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface which has no strong impact on current confinement on simulated TLM test structures. The second one is the variation of the activation energy (Ea=Ec−EF) of the a-Si:H contact layers. Both simulated and experimental results have demonstrated that three current distribution regimes are possible in the TLM test structure depending on the Ea value with only one regime, for Ea between 0.6 and 1.4 eV, enabling to isolate the metal/TCO interface. This condition is mandatory to maintain a sufficiently high potential barrier for electrons at the interfaces a-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(i)/c-Si(n) and thus lateral current in the TCO layer to apply TLM on SHJ devices.

Low thermal budget V/Al/Mo/Au ohmic contacts for improved performance of AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs

We report on the highly improved performance of Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs using a V/Al/Mo/Au metal stack as ohmic electrodes. Transfer length method test structures using a V/Al/Mo/Au metal stack annealed at a temperature of 660 °C revealed highly linear current–voltage curves and smooth surface morphology. Compared with reference MIS-HEMTs using Ti/Al/Mo/Au annealed at the standard rapid thermal annealing temperature of 880 °C, V-based devices exhibited less hysteresis of transfer curves and showed higher gate controllability of the drain current, suggesting a highly improved Al2O3/AlGaN interface. Measurements and analyses of capacitance–voltage characteristics of corresponding MIS-capacitors corroborated these findings. The V-based ohmic contact could open new avenues towards enhanced GaN-based MIS-HEMTs performance.

Pseudo‐Vertical Schottky Diode with Ruthenium Contacts on (113) Boron‐Doped Homoepitaxial Diamond Layers

Electrical properties of pseudo‐vertical Schottky barrier diodes (pVSBDs) prepared on (113)–oriented boron‐doped diamond (BDD) layers using ruthenium (Ru) for both the ohmic and Schottky contacts are investigated. First, Ru ohmic contacts are evaporated on homoepitaxial BDD layers with different resistivity, and their specific contact resistance is measured using circular transfer length method structures after annealing at various temperatures up to 750 °C. Then, pVSBD structures are fabricated on the boron‐doped bilayer consisting of a lower, heavily boron‐doped layer ensuring an ohmic contact and an upper, lightly doped layer providing a rectifying Schottky contact. After necessary mesa etching, both contacts are formed by the Ru evaporation. The results show that Ru forms a stable ohmic contact with very low contact resistance (10−5–10−6 Ω cm2) when deposited on BDD layers with metallic conductivity. It also provides an acceptable Schottky contact on low‐doped (113) homoepitaxial BDD. Both contacts, which are made simultaneously, realize pVSBDs with low on‐state resistance and low forward voltage drop. However, the lower barrier of the ruthenium contacts results in higher leakage. Ru pVSBDs thus show a lower rectification ratio, higher leakage, and a worse ideality factor compared to analogical pVSBDs using molybdenum contacts.

Modulation Doping of Silicon Nanowires to Tune the Contact Properties of Nano‐Scale Schottky Barriers

AbstractDoping silicon on the nanoscale by the intentional introduction of impurities into the intrinsic semiconductor suffers from effects such as dopant deactivation, random dopant fluctuations, out‐diffusion, and mobility degradation. This paper presents the first experimental proof that doping of silicon nanowires can also be achieved via the purposeful addition of aluminium‐induced acceptor states to the SiO2 shell around a silicon nanowire channel. It is shown that modulation doping lowers the overall resistance of silicon nanowires with nickel silicide Schottky contacts by up to six orders of magnitude. The effect is consistently observed for various channel geometries and systematically studied as a function of Al2O3 content during fabrication. The transfer length method is used to separate the effects on the channel conductivity from that on the barriers. A silicon resistivity is achieved as low as 0.04–0.06 Ω ·cm in the nominal undoped material. In addition, the specific contact resistivity is also strongly influenced by the modulation doping and reduced down to 3.5E‐7 Ω · cm2, which relates to lowering the effective Schottky barrier to 0.09 eV. This alternative doping method has the potential to overcome the issues associated with doping and contact formation on the nanoscale.

High-Accuracy Contact Resistance Measurement Method for Liquid Metal by Considering Current-Density Distribution in Transfer Length Method Measurement.

Liquid metals (LMs) are used as stretchable conductors in various stretchable electronic devices. Moreover, such devices using Ga-based LMs have attracted considerable attention. Herein, we propose a method for accurately determining the contact resistance (Rc) between galinstan and Cu electrodes by considering the current-density distribution in transfer length method (TLM) measurement. Conventional TLM measurements assume that the sheet resistance of the metal electrode (Rshe) is negligible compared with that of the object (Rsho), such as Si. However, this assumption may be problematic because the Rsho of Ga-based liquid metals (LMs) is close to the Rshe. Therefore, we developed a method of applying current to each measuring electrode and compared it with the conventional method of applying current to the outer electrodes. Simulation results indicated that Rshe cannot be ignored for galinstan, and the measured resistance in the contact area (RcTotal) included <10% of the Rc component when current was applied to the outer electrodes. In contrast, RcTotal included the entire Rc component when current was applied to each electrode. Furthermore, we found that the volume resistances of the object and electrode included in RcTotal cannot be ignored. Therefore, for accurate measurement, current must be applied to each electrode, and Rc must be determined from the intersections of the measured and simulated RcTotal. The obtained contact resistivity (ρc), i.e., the contact resistance per unit contact area, was 0.115 mΩ·mm2. The maximum error was 0.085 mΩ·mm2, which was lower than the ρc of the solders (≥10-1 mΩ·mm2) with the lowest ρc among the electrical interface materials between the electronic components and wiring. This study provides valuable insight into the Rc measurement of LMs, along with new opportunities for the development of stretchable electronics using LMs.

High-performance organic field effect transistor of liquid crystalline organic semiconductor using silver electrodes with bottom-gate top-contact configuration

We have investigated organic field effect transistors (OFETs) fabricated with liquid crystalline organic semiconductor, 2-decyl-7-phenyl-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (Ph-BTBT-10), and silver (Ag) source-drain electrodes. Ph-BTBT-10 OFETs using Ag source-drain electrodes in bottom-gate top-contact configuration exhibit high mobility of 8.2 cm2 Vs−1, which is similar to those of gold (Au) electrodes. Contact resistance of Ph-BTBT-10 OFETs using Ag electrodes achieved 0.49 kΩcm by transfer length method, which is lower than those of Au electrodes, 2.7 kΩcm. Ph-BTBT-10 OFET using Ag source-drain electrodes in bottom-gate top-contact configuration is a promising candidate for high-performance and low-cost OFETs.

(Invited) Sub-Bandgap Thermoreflectance Imaging of Ultra-Wide Bandgap Semiconductors

Over the past few decades, wide bandgap semiconductors (WBG) have been used to fabricate high power and high frequency devices. Device structures, such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs), have begun to be implemented in commercial products such as electrical vehicles and laptop power chargers. With the continuous increase in energy demand, however, extremely high voltage (>10 kV) applications are needed to increase the grid resiliency, storage, and transmission efficiency. Ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) Semiconductors, with bandgaps >4 eV, could potentially be used to overcome this barrier. Pushing the maximum voltage limit of these devices, however, can lead to significant power dissipation and excessive joule heating.Unfortunately, the thermal conductivity of some UWBG semiconductors, such as Gallium Oxide, is inherently low and thus requires both device and package level thermal management. Innovative solutions, such as high thermal conductivity substrates, are required to reduce the active channel temperature and extend the device lifetime and reliability. In order to successfully implement these technologies, accurate measurement of the peak temperature and thermal distribution (both vertical and lateral) is necessary. Depth-averaged vertical temperature gradients have been demonstrated via Raman thermometry but this approach can become significantly time consuming if attempting to perform transient or lateral maps. On the other hand, Transient Thermoreflectance Imaging (TTI) has shown the potential to provide high throughput thermal images with high spatial resolution (100 nm) and temporal resolution (50 ns).Traditionally, TTI has been used to probe the temperature of metals due to their inherent high reflectivity. Nevertheless, recent studies have demonstrated the ability to probe the surface temperature of the semiconductor when using near-bandgap illumination sources. Due to the high bandgap of UWBG semiconductors, the maturity of high transmission UV sources, optics and detectors has not yet been fully developed. This study investigates the applicability of sub-bandgap wavelengths to probe the active channel temperature. The thermal properties of both Gallium Oxide transistors and Transfer Length Method (TLM) structures are investigated using TTI. The accuracy of the channel temperature is assessed by direct comparison to the adjacent metal contact temperature. A finite element model (FEM) is developed to understand the thermal transport in low thermally conductive semiconductors. Finally, a 3D analytical model is used to extract thermal properties such as the thermal conductivity of the thin film layers.Figure a) Optical CCD Image of Gallium Oxide Transfer Length Method (TLM) Structure b) Transient Thermoreflectance Image (TTI) of Gallium Oxide TLM using sub-bandgap illumination wavelength. Figure 1

Scalable High-Mobility Graphene/hBN Heterostructures.

Graphene-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) scalable heterostructures are pivotal for the development of graphene-based high-tech applications. In this work, we demonstrate the realization of high-quality graphene-hBN heterostructures entirely obtained with scalable approaches. hBN continuous films were grown via ion beam-assisted physical vapor deposition directly on commercially available SiO2/Si and used as receiving substrates for graphene single-crystal matrixes grown by chemical vapor deposition on copper. The structural, chemical, and electronic properties of the heterostructure were investigated by atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and electrical transport measurements. We demonstrate graphene carrier mobilities exceeding 10,000 cm2/Vs in ambient conditions, 30% higher than those directly measured on SiO2/Si. We prove the scalability of our approach by measuring more than 100 transfer length method devices over a centimeter scale, which present an average carrier mobility of 7500 ± 850 cm2/Vs. The reported high-quality all-scalable heterostructures are of relevance for the development of graphene-based high-performing electronic and optoelectronic applications.