The oxide/nitride interface: A study for gate dielectrics and field passivation

The study of the effects of substrate surface preparation of GaN, both in-situ and ex-situ and the subsequent deposition of dielectric materials is necessary to create a viable GaN FET technology. Surface preparation techniques have been explored using RHEED, AES, SIMS and C-V measurements to produce films of low interface trap density, 1-2E11 eV^-1cm^-2. A similar study of the as-fabricated HEMT surface was carried out to create a cleaning procedure prior to dielectric passivation. Dielectric films of Sc ₂O₃ and MgO were deposited via gas-source MBE. Post-deposition materials characterization included AES, TEM, XRR and XPS, as well as gate pulse and isolation current measurements for the passivated HEMT devices. From this study, the relationship between the interface structure and chemistry and the quality of the oxide/nitride electrical interface has been determined. The resulting process has led to the near elimination of the current collapse phenomenon. In addition, the resulting oxide/nitride interface quality has allowed for the first demonstration of inversion in GaN.