Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy was used to study annealed Ti/Al/Ti/Au and V/Al/V/Au ohmic contacts to as-received and plasma-etched n-Al0.58Ga0.42N. The reaction depth of low-resistance V-based contacts to as-received n-Al0.58Ga0.42N is very limited, unlike previously reported Ti-based contacts to n-Al x Ga1−x N. In the present study, the Ti/Al/Ti/Au contacts to as-received n-Al0.58Ga0.42N required much higher annealing temperatures than the V-based contacts and also exhibited deeper reactions on the␣order of 40 nm. To achieve a low contact resistance on plasma-etched n-Al0.58Ga0.42N, different metal layer thicknesses and processing conditions were required. The Ti- and V-based contacts to plasma-etched n-Al0.58Ga0.42N exhibited both similar contact resistances and limited reaction depths, along with the presence of an aluminum nitride layer at the metallization/semiconductor interface. Metal channels penetrate the aluminum nitride layer connecting the top of the metallization to the n-Al0.58Ga0.42N. The similarity in phase formation in the contacts to plasma-etched n-Al0.58Ga0.42N is likely the reason behind the similarity in specific contact resistances.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Andrew A. Allerman (Sandia National Laboratories) for growth of the Al x Ga1−x N layers. They would also like to thank the Lehigh/Penn State Center for Optical Technologies (ARO DAAD-19-02-2-0030) and the National Science Foundation (DMR 0308786). Penn State’s Materials Research Institute Nano Fabrication Network and National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network with Cornell University (NSF 0335765) are also acknowledged for maintaining the microscopy facilities used in this work.
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Miller, M., Koo, B., Bogart, K. et al. Ti/Al/Ti/Au and V/Al/V/Au Contacts to Plasma-Etched n-Al0.58Ga0.42N. J. Electron. Mater. 37, 564–568 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-007-0300-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-007-0300-8