Electrical and optical characterization studies of lower dose Si-implanted AlxGa1−xN

Electrical and optical activation studies of lower dose Si-implanted Al_xGa_1?xN (x=0.14 and 0.24) have been made systematically as a function of ion dose and anneal temperature. Silicon ions were implanted at 200 keV with doses ranging from 1×10¹³ cm^?2 to 1×10¹⁴ cm^?2 at room temperature. The samples were proximity cap annealed from 1,100°C to 1,350°C with a 500-Å-thick AlN cap in a nitrogen environment. Nearly 100% electrical activation efficiency was obtained for Al_0.24Ga_0.76N implanted with a dose of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 after annealing at an optimum temperature around 1,300°C, whereas for lower dose (≤5×10¹³ cm^?2) implanted Al_0.24Ga_0.76N samples, the electrical activation efficiencies continue to increase with anneal temperature up through 1,350°C. Seventy-six percent electrical activation efficiency was obtained for Al_0.14Ga_0.86N implanted with a dose of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 at an optimum anneal temperature of around 1,250°C. The highest mobilities obtained were 89 cm²/Vs and 76 cm²/Vs for the Al_0.14Ga_0.86N and Al_0.24Ga_0.76N, respectively. Consistent with the electrical results, the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the donor-bound exciton peak increases as the anneal temperature increases from 1,100°C to 1,250°C, indicating an increased implantation damage recovery with anneal temperature.     

Temperature-Dependent Studies of Si-Implanted Al<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>N with Different Annealing Temperatures and Times

Electrical activation studies were carried out on Si-implanted Al_0.33Ga_0.67N as a function of ion dose, annealing temperature, and annealing time. The samples were implanted at room temperature with Si ions at 200 keV in doses ranging from 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² to 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², and subsequently proximity-cap annealed from 1150°C to 1350°C for 20 min to 60 min in a nitrogen environment. One hundred percent electrical activation efficiency was obtained for Al_0.33Ga_0.67N samples implanted with a dose of 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻² after annealing at either 1200°C for 40 min or at 1300°C for 20 min. The samples implanted with doses of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² and 5 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² exhibited significant activations of 74% and 90% after annealing for 20 min at 1300°C and 1350°C, respectively. The mobility increased as the annealing temperature increased from 1150°C to 1350°C, showing peak mobilities of 80 cm²/V s, 64 cm²/V s, and 61 cm²/V s for doses of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻², 5 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻², and 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², respectively. Temperature-dependent Hall-effect measurements showed that most of the implanted layers were degenerately doped. Cathodoluminescence measurements for all samples exhibited a sharp neutral donor-bound exciton peak at 4.08 eV, indicating excellent recovery of damage caused by ion implantation.     

Electrical Characteristics of Ti/Al Ohmic Contacts to Molecular Beam Epitaxy-Grown N-polar n-type GaN for Vertical-Structure Light-Emitting Diodes

We investigated the electrical properties of Ti(30?nm)/Al(200?nm) contacts to molecular beam epitaxy-grown N-polar n-GaN with different carrier concentrations. Samples with carrier concentration of 1.2?×?10¹⁸?cm^?3 showed nonohmic behaviors when annealed at 300°C, but ohmic at 500°C and 700°C. All samples with carrier concentration of 2.0?×?10¹⁹?cm^?3 exhibited ohmic behavior. x-Ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that, for samples with carrier concentration of 1.2?×?10¹⁸?cm^?3, the Ga 2p core levels shift to lower or higher binding energy upon annealing at 300°C or above 500°C, respectively. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) results showed that, for samples with carrier concentration of 1.2?×?10¹⁸?cm^?3, a wurtzite AlN layer (??2?nm thick) formed at the metal/GaN interface when the samples were annealed at 500°C. An interfacial wurtzite AlN layer also formed upon annealing at 700°C, but its thickness was ??4?nm. Based on the XPS and STEM results, the ohmic contact formation and degradation mechanisms are described and discussed.     

Nearly Perfect Electrical Activation Efficiencies from Silicon-Implanted Al<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ga<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>N with High Aluminum Mole Fraction

Electrical activation studies of Al _x Ga_1−x N (x = 0.45 and 0.51) implanted with Si for n-type conductivity have been made as a function of ion dose and anneal temperature. Silicon ions were implanted at 200 keV with doses ranging from 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² to 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻² at room temperature. The samples were subsequently annealed from 1150°C to 1350°C for 20 min in a nitrogen environment. Nearly 100% electrical activation efficiency was successfully obtained for the Si-implanted Al_0.45Ga_0.55N samples after annealing at 1350°C for doses of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² and 5 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² and at 1200°C for a dose of 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², and for the Al_0.51Ga_0.49N implanted with silicon doses of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² and 5 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² after annealing at 1300°C. The highest room-temperature mobility obtained was 61 cm²/V s and 55 cm²/V s for the low-dose implanted Al_0.45Ga_0.55N and Al_0.51Ga_0.49N, respectively, after annealing at 1350°C for 20 min. These results show unprecedented activation efficiencies for Al _x Ga_1−x N with high Al mole fractions and provide suitable annealing conditions for Al _x Ga_1−x N-based device applications.     

The effect of argon implantation on the conductivity of boron implanted silicon

Silicon wafers have been implanted with boron (3 × 10¹⁴ or 1 × 10¹⁵ ions cm^?2) and with argon (up to 1 × 10¹⁵ ions cm^?2). The energies were chosen to approximately superimpose the two impurity distributions. After the boron and argon implantations the sheet resistance of each wafer was measured following annealing in nitrogen at temperatures in the range 400–1050°C. The highest dose argon implantation produced an increase in sheet resistance which persisted throughout the entire temperature range. Lower argon doses produced a reduction in sheet resistance for anneal temperatures between 550 and 800°C. The magnitude of the reduction is a function of the boron and argon doses and of the anneal temperatures. The greatest reduction, observed after a 600°C anneal, was by a factor of 5.8. Above 800°C the low dose argon did not affect the sheet resistance.The observed reduction in sheet resistance is expected to lead to an improvement in metal to p-type silicon contacts. A particular application is in the contacts to resistors in fast bipolar logic circuits. As high electrical activity can be obtained at moderate annealing temperatures with combined boron and argon implantations, these implantations can be carried out at a late stage in an integrated circuit process schedule without the danger of additional movement of existing junctions.     

Si-implantation activation annealing of GaN up to 1400°C

Implant activation annealing of Si-implanted GaN is reported for temperatures from 1100 to 1400°C. Free electron concentrations up to 3.5×10²⁰ cm⁻³ are estimated at the peak of the implanted profile with Hall mobilities of ∼60 cm²/Vs for annealing at 1300°C for 30 s with an AIN encapsulant layer. This mobility is comparable to epitaxial GaN doped at a similarly high level. For annealing at ≥1300°C, the sample must be encapsulated with AIN to prevent decomposition of the GaN layer. Channeling Rutherford backscattering demonstrates the partial removal of the implant damage after a 1400°C anneal with a minimum channeling yield of 12.6% compared to 38.6% for the as-implanted spectrum. Scanning electron microscope images show evidence of decomposition of unencapsulated GaN after a 1300°C anneal and complete sublimation after 1400°C. The use of AIN encapsulation and annealing at temperatures of ∼1300°C will allow the formation of selective areas of highly doped GaN to reduce the contact and access resistance in GaN-based transistors and thyristors.     

P-type doping of GaAs by carbon implantation

The electrical properties of C-implanted <100> GaAs have been studied following rapid thermal annealing at temperatures in the range from 750 to 950°C. This includes dopant profiling using differential Hall measurements. The maximum p-type activation efficiency was found to be a function of C-dose and annealing temperature, with the optimum annealing temperature varying from 900°C for C doses of 5 × 10¹³ cm⁻² to 800°C for doses ≥5 × 10¹⁴cm⁻². For low dose implants, the net p-type activation efficiency was as high as 75%; while for the highest dose implants, it dropped to as low as 0.5%. Moreover, for these high-dose samples, 5 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², the activation efficiency was found to decrease with increasing annealing temperature, for temperatures above ∼800°C, and the net hole concentration fell below that of samples implanted to lower doses. This issue is discussed in terms of the amphoteric doping behavior of C in GaAs. Hole mobilities showed little dependence on annealing temperature but decreased with increasing implant dose, ranging from ∼100 cm²/V·s for low dose implants, to ∼65 cm²/V·s for high dose samples. These mobility values are the same or higher than those for Be-, Zn-, or Cd-implanted GaAs.     

Phosphorus implantation into 4H-silicon carbide

Sheet resistances in nitrogen- and phosphorus-implanted 4H-SiC are measured to assess the time and temperature dependencies of this variable. In 4H-SiC implanted with 3 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2 nitrogen ions to a depth of 2800 Å, the minimum sheet resistance observed is 534 Ω/□. The minimum sheet resistance in 4H-SiC implanted with 4 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2 phosphorus ions to a depth of 4000 Å is 51 Ω/□, a record low value for any implanted element into any polytype of SiC. Time-independent sheet resistances are observed following anneals at 1700°C for nitrogen and phosphorus samples. Lower temperature anneals produce sheet resistances which decrease monotonically with increasing time of anneal. Overall, sheet resistances from phosphorus-implanted 4H-SiC are an order of magnitude below those measured from nitrogen implanted samples. The response of phosphorus to low-temperature annealing is significant, and sheet resistances below 500 Ω/□ are achieved at 1200°C. Activation of phosphorus is attempted in an oxidizing atmosphere with and without prior argon annealing. A three-hour gate oxidation in wet O₂ at 1150°C, followed by a 30 min argon anneal, produced a sheet resistance of 1081 Ω/□. Oxidation after argon annealing caused sheet resistances to increase by about 20% compared to samples subjected solely to argon annealing. It is also found that oxide growth rates are much higher over phosphorus implanted than over unimplanted 4H-SiC. Reasons for the disparity in sheet resistances between nitrogen and phosphorus implants, and for the difference in oxide growth rates are suggested.     

The electrical properties of zinc implanted GaAs

The electrical properties of zinc implanted GaAs have been measured as a function of ion dose, ion energy, implant temperature and annealing temperature and time using either evaporated aluminium layers or pyrolytically deposited Si₃N₄ as the encapsulant during annealing. The electrical profiles depend on all the above variables and thus profiles can be tailored by varying the relative magnitudes of these parameters. It is important to note that hole concentrations in excess of 1 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3 can be obtained following an anneal at temperatures as low as 650°C. Also, at the same annealing temperature, profile depths can be varied from 0.2 to about 1 μm by correct choice of implantation parameters. Aluminium coatings are acceptable for annealing temperatures up to 700°C but Si₃N₄ is required at higher temperatures.     

Exfoliation and blistering of Cd<Subscript>0.96</Subscript>Zn<Subscript>0.04</Subscript>Te substrates by ion implantation

As part of a series of wafer bonding experiments, the exfoliation/blistering of ion-implanted Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te substrates was investigated as a function of postimplantation annealing conditions. (211) Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te samples were implanted either with hydrogen (5×10¹⁶ cm⁻²; 40–200 keV) or co-implanted with boron (1×10¹⁵ cm⁻²; 147 keV) and hydrogen (1–5×10¹⁶ cm⁻²; 40 keV) at intended implant temperatures of 253 K or 77 K. Silicon reference samples were simultaneously co-implanted. The change in the implant profile after annealing at low temperatures (<300°C) was monitored using high-resolution x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical microscopy. The samples implanted at the higher temperature did not show any evidence of blistering after annealing, although there was evidence of sample heating above 253 K during the implant. The samples implanted at 77 K blistered at temperatures ranging from 150°C to 300°C, depending on the hydrogen implant dose and the presence of the boron co-implant. The production of blisters under different implant and annealing conditions is consistent with nucleation of subsurface defects at lower temperature, followed by blistering/exfoliation at higher temperature. The surface roughness remained comparable to that of the as-implanted sample after the lower temperature anneal sequence, so this defect nucleation step is consistent with a wafer bond annealing step prior to exfoliation. Higher temperature anneals lead to exfoliation of all samples implanted at 77 K, although the blistering temperature (150–300°C) was a strong function of the implant conditions. The exfoliated layer thickness was 330 nm, in good agreement with the projected range. The “optimum” conditions based on our experimental data showed that implanting CdZnTe with H⁺ at 77 K and a dose of 5×10¹⁶/cm² is compatible with developing high interfacial energy at the bonded interface during a low-temperature (150°C) anneal followed by layer exfoliation at higher (300°C) temperature.     

Influence of an increase in the implantation dose of erbium ions and annealing temperature on photoluminescence in AlGaN/GaN superlattices and GaN epitaxial layers

Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) has been studied in AlGaN/GaN superlattices and GaN epitaxial layers implanted with 1-MeV erbium at a dose of 3 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2 and annealed in argon. The intensity of PL from Er³⁺ ions in the superlattices exceeds that for the epitaxial layers at annealing temperatures of 700–1000°C. The strongest difference (by a factor of ～2.8) in PL intensity between the epitaxial layers and the superlattices and the highest PL intensity for the superlattices are observed upon annealing at 900°C. On raising the annealing temperature to 1050°C, the intensity of the erbium emission from the superlattices decreases substantially. This circumstance may be due to their thermal destruction.     

Low-temperature processing of antimony-implanted silicon

It is shown for the first time that antimony-implanted silicon produces the highest electrical activation (90%) with low resistivity (<200 ohms/square) following low-temperature processing. Thus, annealing at 650°C produces the best results for antimony, whereas for arsenic, it is necessary to anneal at temperatures above 1000°C to get optimum results. Silicon was implanted with antimony at 12 keV and 40 keV and doses of 8.5×10¹⁴ cm⁻² and 4×10¹⁴ cm⁻², respectively, and arsenic at equivalent energies and doses. The electrical data from both implants are compared in order to identify the process conditions require to obtain optimum results. It is demonstrated that annealing below 800°C produces electrical profiles with no measurable diffusion of the antimony, but higher temperature anneals produce significant diffusional broadening.     

Rapid thermal annealing of si implanted gaas

Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) technology offers potential advantages for GaAs MESFET device technology such as reducing dopant diffusion and minimizing the redistribution of background impurities. LEC semi-insulating GaAs substrates were implanted with Si at energies from 100 to 400 keV to doses from 1 × 10¹² to 1 × 10¹⁴/cm². The wafers were encapsulated with Si₃N₄ and then annealed at temperatures from 850-1000° C in a commercial RTA system. Wafers were also annealed using a conventional furnace cycle at 850° C to provide a comparison with the RTA wafers. These implanted layers were evaluated using capacitance-voltage and Hall effect measurements. In addition, FET’s were fabricated using selective implants that were annealed with either RTA or furnace cycles. The effects of anneal temperature and anneal time were determined. For a dose of 4 × 10¹²/cm² at 150 keV with anneal times of 5 seconds at 850, 900, 950 and 1000° C the activation steadily increased in the peak of the implant with overlapping profiles in the tail of the profiles, showing that no significant diffusion occurs. In addition, the same activation could be obtained by adjusting the anneal times. A plot of the equivalent anneal times versus 1/T gives an activation energy of 2.3 eV. At a higher dose of 3 × 10¹³ an activation energy of 1.7 eV was obtained. For a dose of 4 × 10¹² at 150 keV both the RTA and furnace annealing give similar activations with mobilities between 4700 and 5000 cm²/V-s. Mobilities decrease to 4000 at a dose of 1 × 10¹³ and to 2500 cm²/V-s at 1 × 10¹⁴/cm². At doses above 1 × 10¹³ the RTA cycles gave better activation than furnace annealed wafers. The MESFET parameters for both RTA and furnace annealed wafers were nearly identical. The average gain and noise figure at 8 GHz were 7.5 and 2.0, respectively, for packaged die from either RTA or furnace annealed materials.     

Ion implantation damage in GaAs: A TEM study of the variation with ion species and stoichiometry

GaAs samples have been implanted with a dose of 2 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 of each ion in the following combinations: Ga, As, Ga + As, Se, Ga + Se and As + Se. Implantation was at 200°C, and post implantation annealing at 700°C. Subsequent examination by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed clear and reproducible differences in the dislocation loop size and density, depending on the ion species implanted. The simplest results were obtained with the single implants, particularly Ga and As. These observed variations could be explained in terms of point defect populations, and hence rates of annealing at a given anneal temperature, being affected significantly by the stoichiometric effect of the implant. These simpler aspects were also seen to be incorporated in the more complex “dual” implants.     

Activation of silicon ion-implanted gallium nitride by furnace annealing

Ion implantation into III–V nitride materials is animportant technology for high-power and high-temperature digital and monolithic microwave integrated circuits. We report the results of the electrical, optical, and surface morphology of Si ion-implanted GaN films using furnace annealing. We demonstrate high sheet-carrier densities for relatively low-dose (n_atoms=5×10¹⁴ cm⁻²) Si implants into AlN/GaN/sapphire heteroepitaxial films. The samples that were annealed at 1150°C in N₂ for 5 min exhibited a smooth surface morphology and a sheet electron concentration n_s ∼9.0×10¹³ cm⁻², corresponding to an estimated 19% electrical activation and a 38% Si donor activation in GaN films grown on sapphire substrates. Variable-temperature Hall-effect measurem entsindicate a Si donor ionization energy ∼15 meV.     

Formation and study of buried SiC layers with a high content of radiation defects

Protons with energy E=100 keV were implanted with doses ranging from 2×10¹⁷ to 4×10¹⁷ cm^?2 into 6H-and 4H-SiC n-type samples at room temperature. The samples were subjected to various types of postimplantation heat treatment in the temperature range 550–1500°C. The parameters of the samples were studied by measuring the capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics and by analyzing the photoluminescence spectra. Blistering on the surface of the sample is observed after annealing the samples at a temperature of 800°C only after implantation of protons with a dose of ≤3×10¹⁷ cm^?2. A decrease in the resistivity of the compensated layer sets in after annealing at a temperature of ～1200°C and is completed after annealing at a temperature of ～1500°C. A drastic decrease in the photoluminescence intensity is observed after implantation for all types of samples. Recovery of the photoluminescence intensity sets in after annealing at temperatures ≥800°C and is complete after annealing at a temperature of 1500°C.     

The effects of incomplete annealing on the temperature dependence of sheet resistance and gage factor in aluminum and phosphorus implanted silicon on sapphire

The temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) of ion implanted silicon can be significantly reduced by partially annealing the crystal damage produced during implantation. The extent to which this method can be used to temperature compensate the resistivity and the gage factor has been determined for 300 ohm-cm silicon on sapphire implanted with either 100 keV Al²⁷ or P³¹ ions. The implantations were made at room temperature parallel to the 〈100〉 axis and in four fluences ranging from 1 × 10¹³cm^?2 to 1·25 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2. Sheet resistance, Hall coefficient, and effective mobility were measured from ?150°C to 150°C for various anneal temperatures. It was possible to obtain very low temperature dependences of sheet resistance at 300°K for all dopant fluences by appropriate partial annealing. On samples having the lowest temperature dependence of sheet resistance, the gage factor was measured from ?75°C to 75°C. The measurements were made along the 〈100〉 direction for phosphorus doped samples, and along the 〈110〉 direction for aluminum doped samples for all four fluences. The gage factor and its temperature dependence for these crystal orientations are not drastically affected by the crystal damage. These results are interpreted in terms of a model previously developed to explain the effect of electron damage on the temperature dependence of the resistivity and the piezoresistance of silicon.     

Influence of rapid high-temperature anneals on the photoluminescence of erbium-doped GaN in the wavelength interval 1.0–1.6 µm

The influence of rapid-anneal conditions and subsequent coimplantation of oxygen ions on the photoluminescence of erbium ions implanted with an energy of 1 MeV and dose of 5×10¹⁴ cm⁻² in MOCVD-grown GaN films is investigated. The erbium photoluminescence intensity at a wavelength ∼ 1.54 μm increases as the fixed-time (15 s) anneal temperature is raised from 700 °C to 1300 °C. The erbium photoluminescence intensity can be increased by the coimplantation of oxygen ions at anneal temperatures in the indicated range below 900 °C. The transformation of the crystal structure of the samples as a result of erbium-ion implantation and subsequent anneals is investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 33, 3–8 (January 1999)     

The electrical characteristics of InP implanted with the column IV elements

A study of the electrical characteristics of InP implanted with C, Si, Ge and Sn demonstrates that all of these column IV elements are donors, although the net electrical activation achieved with the light ion C was only about 5%. Samples implanted at temperatures of 150–200°C generally had lower sheet resistivities, higher mobilities and except for high doses, higher sheet carrier concentrations than those done at room temperatures. Implants at 150–200°C with 1 × 10¹⁴cm^?2 of the heavier ions, Si, Ge or Sn, resulted in layers with sheet carrier concentrations of 7.8 × 10¹³, 5.6 × 10¹³ and 4.7 × 10¹³cm^?2, respectively. Carrier concentration profiles of samples implanted at 200°C with 1 × 10¹⁴cm^?2 of Si agreed reasonably well with LSS theory. Higher doses gave rise to substantial diffusion of the implanted Si, whereas room temperature implants showed poor activation near the surface.     

Deposition of GaN Layers with a lowered dislocation density by molecular-beam epitaxy

The deposition of a multilayer buffer layer that includes a high-temperature AlN layer grown at a temperature above 1100°C has made it possible to reduce the dislocation density in a GaN layer by 1.5?C2 orders of magnitude to values in the range from 9 × 10⁸ to 1 × 10⁹ cm^?2, compared with the case of growth on a thin low-temperature AlN nucleation layer. The decrease in the dislocation density causes a substantial increase in the electron mobility in the GaN layers to 600?C650 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which is in agreement with the results of calculations and is indicative of the high crystalline perfection of the layers.