Fabrication and Characterization of ZnO and GaN Devices for Electronic and Photonic Applications

The research work presented in this dissertation is based on two direct and wide band gap semiconductors: ZnO and GaN. On the first part of the dissertation, the synthesis of ZnO nanorod array via the low temperature solution growth method on flexible In2O3-PET and rigid ITO-glass substrates were discussed. The analysis of the morphology, crystal quality, and optical property of ZnO nanorods synthesized with the solution growth process were investigated. Due to the high surface-to-volume ratio of ZnO nanorod, to alleviate the some of the drawbacks such as carrier mobility and thickness dilemma of organic solar cells, ZnO nanorod array were integrated into organic solar cells. In this ZnO nanorod array integrated bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, ZnO nanorods play an important role in rapid collecting and transporting charge carriers. Power conversion efficiency (η) of 1.8% is achieved in our ZnO nanorods integrated bulk heterojunction organic solar cells on flexible In2O3-PET substrates. On the second part of the dissertation, Aluminum gallium nitride/gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (AlGaN/GaN HEMTs) were fabricated. RoundHEMT technology, which greatly simplifies the microelectronic fabrication process compared to traditional open fingers HEMT, was employed. Device testing and characterization under both room temperature and high temperature up to 300 °C were performed. The results show that the device can operate even at 300 °C with minimal degradation. Moreover, we propose a simple and novel spectroscopic photo I-V method of diagnosing the homogeneity of electrically-active defect distribution in the large area AlGaN/GaN HEMT epi structure grown on 6" silicon wafers

Room temperature continuous–wave green lasing from an InGaN microdisk on silicon

Optically pumped green lasing with an ultra low threshold has been achieved using an InGaN/GaN based micro-disk with an undercut structure on silicon substrates. The micro-disks with a diameter of around 1 μm were fabricated by means of a combination of a cost-effective silica micro-sphere approach, dry-etching and subsequent chemical etching. The combination of these techniques both minimises the roughness of the sidewalls of the micro-disks and also produces excellent circular geometry. Utilizing this fabrication process, lasing has been achieved at room temperature under optical pumping from a continuous-wave laser diode. The threshold for lasing is as low as 1 kW/cm2. Time–resolved micro photoluminescence (PL) and confocal PL measurements have been performed in order to further confirm the lasing action in whispering gallery modes and also investigate the excitonic recombination dynamics of the lasing

Epitaxial growth of iii-nitride nanostructures and their optoelectronic applications

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using III-nitride nanowire heterostructures have been intensively studied as promising candidates for future phosphor-free solid-state lighting and full-color displays. Compared to conventional GaN-based planar LEDs, III-nitride nanowire LEDs exhibit numerous advantages including greatly reduced dislocation densities, polarization fields, and quantum-confined Stark effect due to the effective lateral stress relaxation, promising high efficiency full-color LEDs. Beside these advantages, however, several factors have been identified as the limiting factors for further enhancing the nanowire LED quantum efficiency and light output power. Some of the most probable causes have been identified as due to the lack of carrier confinement in the active region, non-uniform carrier distribution, and electron overflow. Moreover, the presence of large surface states and defects contribute significantly to the carrier loss in nanowire LEDs. In this dissertation, a unique core-shell nanowire heterostructure is reported, that could overcome some of the aforementioned-problems of nanowire LEDs. The device performance of such core-shell nanowire LEDs is significantly enhanced by employing several effective approaches. For instance, electron overflow and surface states/defects issues can be significantly improved by the usage of electron blocking layer and by passivating the nanowire surface with either dielectric material / large bandgap energy semiconductors, respectively. Such core-shell nanowire structures exhibit significantly increased carrier lifetime and massively enhanced photoluminescence intensity compared to conventional InGaN/GaN nanowire LEDs. Furthermore, AlGaN based ultraviolet LEDs are studied and demonstrated in this dissertation. The simulation studies using Finite-Difference Time-Domain method (FDTD) substantiate the design modifications such as flip-chip nanowire LED introduced in this work. High performance nanowire LEDs on metal substrates (copper) were fabricated via substrate-transfer process. These LEDs display higher output power in comparison to typical nanowire LEDs grown on Si substrates. By engineering the device active region, high brightness phosphor-free LEDs on Cu with highly stable white light emission and high color rendering index of \u3e 95 are realized. High performance nickel?zinc oxide (Ni-ZnO) and zinc oxide-graphene (ZnO-G) particles have been fabricated through a modified polyol route at 250?C. Such materials exhibit great potential for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications on account of the enhanced short-circuit current density values and improved efficiency that stems from the enhanced absorption and large surface area of the composite. The enhanced absorption of Ni-ZnO composites can be explained by the reduction in grain boundaries of the composite structure as well as to scattering at the grain boundaries. The impregnation of graphene into ZnO structures results in a significant increase in photocurrent consequently due to graphene\u27s unique attributes including high surface area and ultra-high electron mobility. Future research directions will involve the development of such wide-bandgap devices such as solar cells, full color LEDs, phosphor free white-LEDs, UV LEDs and laser diodes for several applications including general lighting, wearable flexible electronics, water purification, as well as high speed LEDs for visible light communications

Wide Bandgap Based Devices

Emerging wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors hold the potential to advance the global industry in the same way that, more than 50 years ago, the invention of the silicon (Si) chip enabled the modern computer era. SiC- and GaN-based devices are starting to become more commercially available. Smaller, faster, and more efficient than their counterpart Si-based components, these WBG devices also offer greater expected reliability in tougher operating conditions. Furthermore, in this frame, a new class of microelectronic-grade semiconducting materials that have an even larger bandgap than the previously established wide bandgap semiconductors, such as GaN and SiC, have been created, and are thus referred to as “ultra-wide bandgap” materials. These materials, which include AlGaN, AlN, diamond, Ga2O3, and BN, offer theoretically superior properties, including a higher critical breakdown field, higher temperature operation, and potentially higher radiation tolerance. These attributes, in turn, make it possible to use revolutionary new devices for extreme environments, such as high-efficiency power transistors, because of the improved Baliga figure of merit, ultra-high voltage pulsed power switches, high-efficiency UV-LEDs, and electronics. This Special Issue aims to collect high quality research papers, short communications, and review articles that focus on wide bandgap device design, fabrication, and advanced characterization. The Special Issue will also publish selected papers from the 43rd Workshop on Compound Semiconductor Devices and Integrated Circuits, held in France (WOCSDICE 2019), which brings together scientists and engineers working in the area of III–V, and other compound semiconductor devices and integrated circuits

Group III-nitride nanowires

Group III-nitride nanowires have attracted a lot of research interest in the past decade. They contain both the intrinsic properties of III-nitride materials and some unique properties induced by the nanowire structures. This article reviews the growth methods to obtain III-nitride nanowires, and discusses the pros and cons of both top-down and bottom-up approaches, with detailed discussions on different epitaxy methods. The most widely used catalyst-induced epitaxy and extrinsic particle free epitaxy to grow III-nitride nanowires are compared. The properties of those nanowires make them promising candidates for a broad range of applications, including optoelectronic, electronic and electromechanical devices, which are also presented, with a focus on the current challenges and recent progresses

Thermal and plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of yttrium oxide films and the properties of water wettability

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) is investigated using the liquid precursor Y(EtCp)2(iPr-amd) as the yttrium source with thermal (H2O) and plasma-enhanced (H2O plasma and O2 plasma) processes, respectively. Saturation is confirmed for the growth of the Y2O3 films with each investigated reactant with a similar ALD window from 150 to 300 °C, albeit with a different growth rate. All of the as-deposited Y2O3 films are pure and smooth and have a polycrystalline cubic structure. The as-deposited Y2O3 films are hydrophobic with water contact angles >90°. The water contact angle gradually increased and the surface free energy gradually decreased as the film thickness increased, reaching a saturated value at a Y2O3 film thickness of ∼20 nm. The hydrophobicity was retained during post-ALD annealed at 500 °C in static air for 2 h. Exposure to polar and nonpolar solvents influences the Y2O3 water contact angle. The reported ALD process for Y2O3 films may find potential applications in the field of hydrophobic coatings

Polarity in GaN and ZnO: Theory, measurement, growth, and devices

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Appl. Phys. Rev. 3, 041303 (2016) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4963919.The polar nature of the wurtzite crystalline structure of GaN and ZnO results in the existence of a spontaneous electric polarization within these materials and their associated alloys (Ga,Al,In)N and (Zn,Mg,Cd)O. The polarity has also important consequences on the stability of the different crystallographic surfaces, and this becomes especially important when considering epitaxial growth. Furthermore, the internal polarization fields may adversely affect the properties of optoelectronic devices but is also used as a potential advantage for advanced electronic devices. In this article, polarity-related issues in GaN and ZnO are reviewed, going from theoretical considerations to electronic and optoelectronic devices, through thin film, and nanostructure growth. The necessary theoretical background is first introduced and the stability of the cation and anion polarity surfaces is discussed. For assessing the polarity, one has to make use of specific characterization methods, which are described in detail. Subsequently, the nucleation and growth mechanisms of thin films and nanostructures, including nanowires, are presented, reviewing the specific growth conditions that allow controlling the polarity of such objects. Eventually, the demonstrated and/or expected effects of polarity on the properties and performances of optoelectronic and electronic devices are reported. The present review is intended to yield an in-depth view of some of the hot topics related to polarity in GaN and ZnO, a fast growing subject over the last decade

Graphene and other Two-dimensional Materials in Nanoelectronics and Optoelectronics

Graphene is probably the most fascinating material discovered in this century. A group of 2D materials can be called graphene derivatives, and these have attracted tremendous interest. This includes materials that are one or a few atoms thick. They have outstanding optical/electrical properties, and, most importantly, they are flat and thin—they can be processed with existing semiconductor technologies. Therefore, they have great potential in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics, playing a revolutionary role in these fields via their integration with other bulk materials. Of course, there are still challenges, such as large-scale production, as well as the mechanical transfer of these atomically thin sheets. These are the fields where scientists are now actively doing research. In this book, some leading scientists in the area share their most recent results on the material growth, device physics/processing, and system integration of 2D materials and devices. This book can serve as a starting point for young students to get familiar with the field, and should also be valuable to established device physicists and engineers who would like to explore the potential applications of 2D materials in electronics