skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Thermal conductivity of GaN, 71GaN, and SiC from 150 K to 850 K

Journal Article · · Physical Review Materials
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [2];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
  2. Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
  3. Kyma Technologies, Inc., Raleigh, NC (United States)

The thermal conductivity (Λ) of wide-band-gap semiconductors GaN and SiC is critical for their application in power devices and optoelectronics. Here, we report time-domain thermoreflectance measurements of Λ in GaN, 71GaN, and SiC between 150 and 850 K. The samples include bulk c- and m-plane wurtzite GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and ammonothermal methods; homoepitaxial natural isotope abundant GaN and isotopically enriched 71GaN layers with thickness of 6–12 μm grown on c-, m-, and a-plane GaN substrates grown by HVPE; and bulk crystals of 4H and 6H SiC. In low dislocation density (<107 cm–2) bulk and homoepitaxial GaN, Λ is insensitive to crystal orientation and doping concentration (for doping <1019 cm–3); Λ ≈ 200 W m–1 K–1 at 300 K and ≈ 50 W m–1 K–1 at 850 K. In 71GaN epilayers at 300 K, Λ is ≈15% higher than in GaN with natural isotope abundance. The measured temperature dependence of Λ in GaN is stronger than predicted by first-principles based solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation that include anharmonicity up to third order. This discrepancy between theory and experiment suggests possible significant contributions to the thermal resistivity from higher-order phonon scattering that involve interactions between more than three phonons. The measured Λ of 4H and 6H SiC is anisotropic, in good agreement with first-principles calculations, and larger than GaN by a factor of ≈1.5 in the temperature range 300 < T < 850K. Furthermore, this paper provides benchmark knowledge about the thermal conductivity in wide-band-gap semiconductors of GaN, 71GaN, and SiC over a wide temperature range for their applications in power electronics and optoelectronics.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
Grant/Contract Number:
AR0000876
OSTI ID:
1613744
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1489429
Journal Information:
Physical Review Materials, Vol. 3, Issue 1; ISSN 2475-9953
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 76 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (129)

Thermal diffusivity of isotopically enriched C 12 diamond journal July 1990
High temperature heat contents of III-V semiconductor systems journal June 1990
Intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of semiconductors from first principles journal December 2007
Thermal transport through GaN–SiC interfaces from 300 to 600 K journal August 2015
Precise measurement of equation-of-state and elastic properties for GaN up to 16GPa journal March 2002
The 2018 GaN power electronics roadmap journal March 2018
QUANTUM ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials journal September 2009
Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of the High Temperature Thermal Conductivity of Monocrystalline SiC journal February 1998
Raman scattering determination of structures for SiC polytypes: Quantitative evaluation with a revised model of lattice dynamics journal September 1989
Thermal conductivity of isotopically pure and Ge-doped Si epitaxial layers from 300 to 550 K journal December 2004
Analysis of heat flow in layered structures for time-domain thermoreflectance journal December 2004
Raman scattering from anisotropic LO‐phonon–plasmon–coupled mode in n ‐type 4H– and 6H–SiC journal August 1995
Theoretical and Experimental Study of Raman Scattering from Coupled LO-Phonon-Plasmon Modes in Silicon Carbide journal September 1972
Phonon Dispersion Curves by Raman Scattering in SiC, Polytypes 3 C , 4 H , 6 H , 1 5 R , and 2 1 R journal September 1968
Defects in Single Crystalline Ammonothermal Gallium Nitride journal March 2017
Spectral concentration of thermal conductivity in GaN—A first-principles study journal June 2018
Uncertainty analysis of thermoreflectance measurements journal January 2016
High spatial resolution thermal conductivity and Raman spectroscopy investigation of hydride vapor phase epitaxy grown n-GaN/sapphire (0001): Doping dependence journal September 2000
High Thermal Conductivity of Gallium Nitride (GaN) Crystals Grown by HVPE Process journal January 2007
Infrared Lattice Vibrations and Free-Electron Dispersion in GaN journal January 1973
Phonon transport unveils the prevalent point defects in GaN journal May 2018
Two-tint pump-probe measurements using a femtosecond laser oscillator and sharp-edged optical filters journal November 2008
Limits to Fourier theory in high thermal conductivity single crystals journal November 2015
Correlation of cathodoluminescence inhomogeneity with microstructural defects in epitaxial GaN grown by metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition journal January 1997
Thermal Conductivity and Phonon Resonance Scattering journal June 1962
Thermal Conductivity and Large Isotope Effect in GaN from First Principles journal August 2012
Polarized Raman spectra in GaN journal March 1995
Heat capacity and phonon mean free path of wurtzite GaN journal August 2006
Phonon thermal transport in 2H, 4H and 6H silicon carbide from first principles journal June 2017
Theoretical aspects of the minority carrier recombination at dislocations in semiconductors journal December 1996
Thermal conductivity of lateral epitaxial overgrown GaN films journal December 1999
The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of single crystal GaN films journal March 2001
Electrical Resistivity of Aluminum and Manganese journal October 1984
Homoepitaxial HVPE-GaN growth on non-polar and semi-polar seeds journal October 2014
High temperature enthalpy and heat capacity of GaN journal May 2003
Thermal conductivity of bulk GaN—Effects of oxygen, magnesium doping, and strain field compensation journal November 2014
Raman spectroscopy based measurements of carrier concentration in n-type GaN nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy journal September 2016
Thermal Expansion of the Hexagonal (6H) Polytype of Silicon Carbide journal December 1986
Thermal Conductivity of Wurtzite Zinc-Oxide from First-Principles Lattice Dynamics – a Comparative Study with Gallium Nitride journal March 2016
Selected Electrical Resistivity Values for the Platinum Group of Metals Part I: Palladium and Platinum journal July 2015
Four-phonon scattering significantly reduces intrinsic thermal conductivity of solids journal October 2017
Microstructure of heteroepitaxial GaN revealed by x-ray diffraction journal June 2003
Growth of SiC bulk crystals for application in power electronic devices - process design, 2D and 3D X-ray in situ visualization and advanced doping: Growth of SiC bulk crystals for application in power electronic devices… journal September 2014
Raman spectroscopy of GaN, AlGaN and AlN for process and growth monitoring/control journal January 2001
Curvature and bow of bulk GaN substrates journal July 2016
First-principle-based full-dispersion Monte Carlo simulation of the anisotropic phonon transport in the wurtzite GaN thin film journal April 2016
Thermal conductivity of bulk and nanowire Mg 2 Si x Sn 1 x alloys from first principles journal November 2012
Phonon‐electron scattering in single crystal silicon carbide journal December 1993
Waveguide study and refractive indices of GaN:Mg epitaxial film journal January 1996
Low energy electron beam induced damage on InGaN/GaN quantum well structure journal April 2011
Isotopic and Other Types of Thermal Resistance in Germanium journal May 1958
Influence of HVPE substrates on homoepitaxy of GaN grown by MOCVD journal September 2018
Emerging trends in wide band gap semiconductors (SiC and GaN) technology for power devices journal February 2018
Elastic constants of GaN between 10 and 305 K journal June 2016
Structure and Heat Capacity of Wurtzite GaN from 113 to 1073 K journal February 1999
Origin of lattice bowing of freestanding GaN substrates grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy journal January 2016
Spatial characterization of doped SiC wafers by Raman spectroscopy journal December 1998
The intrinsic thermal conductivity of AIN journal January 1987
Heat capacity of crystalline GaN journal July 2007
Thermal Properties of AlGaN/GaN HFETs on Bulk GaN Substrates journal March 2012
Heat capacity of α Ga N : Isotope effects journal August 2005
Nitride semiconductors free of electrostatic fields for efficient white light-emitting diodes journal August 2000
Anisotropic failure of Fourier theory in time-domain thermoreflectance experiments journal October 2014
Properties of GaN and related compounds studied by means of Raman scattering journal September 2002
“Nanoparticle-in-Alloy” Approach to Efficient Thermoelectrics: Silicides in SiGe journal February 2009
Unusual high thermal conductivity in boron arsenide bulk crystals journal July 2018
Accurate dependence of gallium nitride thermal conductivity on dislocation density journal August 2006
Anisotropic thermal conductivity of 4H and 6H silicon carbide measured using time-domain thermoreflectance journal December 2017
Bulk GaN crystals grown by HVPE journal May 2009
Neutral and charged embedded clusters of Mn in doped GaN from first principles journal July 2007
Thermal conductivity of GaN single crystals: Influence of impurities incorporated in different growth processes journal September 2018
Vertical Power p-n Diodes Based on Bulk GaN journal February 2015
Temperature dependence of the thermal expansion of GaN journal August 2005
Basic ammonothermal growth of Gallium Nitride – State of the art, challenges, perspectives journal September 2018
Size dictated thermal conductivity of GaN journal September 2016
Thermal conductivity of germanium crystals with different isotopic compositions journal October 1997
Thermal conductivity of diamond between 170 and 1200 K and the isotope effect journal June 1993
Specific heat of aluminum from zero to its melting temperature and beyond. Equation for representation of the specific heat of solids journal October 1970
Increased thermal conductivity of free-standing low-dislocation-density GaN films journal September 2005
Thermal conductivity and electrical properties of 6 H silicon carbide journal September 1979
Raman spectroscopic study of the electrical properties of 6H–SiC crystals grown by hydrogen-assisted physical vapor transport method journal May 2010
4H–SiC homoepitaxy on nearly on-axis substrates using TFS-towards high quality epitaxial growth journal August 2016
Investigation of longitudinal‐optical phonon‐plasmon coupled modes in highly conducting bulk GaN journal October 1995
Refractive indices and elasto-optic coefficients of GaN studied by optical waveguiding journal June 2008
Emerging challenges and materials for thermal management of electronics journal May 2014
Ab initio theory of the lattice thermal conductivity in diamond journal September 2009
Crystal structure refinement of AlN and GaN journal September 1977
Raman Frequencies and Angular Dispersion of Polar Modes in Aluminum Nitride and Gallium Nitride journal December 1996
High thermal conductivity in cubic boron arsenide crystals journal July 2018
Determination of the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of monocrystalline silicon carbide (300-2300 K) journal January 1997
Pseudopotentials for high-throughput DFT calculations journal January 2014
Scaling Analysis of Performance Tradeoffs in Electronics Cooling journal December 2009
Challenges and future perspectives in HVPE-GaN growth on ammonothermal GaN seeds journal August 2016
Phonon Scattering in Semiconductors From Thermal Conductivity Studies journal April 1964
Thermal expansion of the hexagonal (4 H ) polytype of SiC journal July 1986
Thermal conductivity of 4H-SiC single crystals journal February 2013
Determination of the charge carrier concentration and mobility in n-gap by Raman spectroscopy journal October 1983
Ultrahigh thermal conductivity of isotopically enriched silicon journal March 2018
Thermal conductivity of GaN crystals in 4.2–300 K range journal October 2003
Electronic properties in p -type GaN studied by Raman scattering journal October 1998
Exceptionally Strong Phonon Scattering by B Substitution in Cubic SiC journal August 2017
X-ray diffraction of III-nitrides journal February 2009
1.5-kV and 2.2-m<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="TeX">\(\Omega \) </tex-math></inline-formula>-cm<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="TeX">\(^{2}\) </tex-math></inline-formula> Vertical GaN Transistors on Bulk-GaN Substrates journal September 2014
Bowing of thick GaN layers grown by HVPE using ELOG journal June 2006
X-ray diffraction analysis of the defect structure in epitaxial GaN journal October 2000
Thermal conductivity of heavily doped bulk crystals GaN:O. Free carriers contribution journal August 2015
Raman Scattering in 6 H SiC journal June 1968
Isotope scattering of large-wave-vector phonons in GaAs and InSb: Deformation-dipole and overlap-shell models journal July 1984
Free Carrier Concentration Gradient along the c -Axis of a Freestanding Si-doped GaN Single Crystal journal February 2005
Thermal Conductivity of Pure and Impure Silicon, Silicon Carbide, and Diamond journal December 1964
Macroscopic polarization and band offsets at nitride heterojunctions journal April 1998
Raman scattering from LO phonon‐plasmon coupled modes in gallium nitride journal January 1994
The Ammonothermal Crystal Growth of Gallium Nitride—A Technique on the Up Rise journal July 2010
Some effects of oxygen impurities on AlN and GaN journal December 2002
Heat Capacity of 4H-SiC Determined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry journal January 2000
Phonon dispersion and Raman scattering in hexagonal GaN and AlN journal November 1998
Large-area analysis of dislocations in ammonothermal GaN by synchrotron radiation X-ray topography journal August 2014
Refinement of thermodynamic data on GaN journal December 2007
Impact of active thermal management on power electronics design journal September 2014
Effect of Si doping on the thermal conductivity of bulk GaN at elevated temperatures – theory and experiment journal September 2017
High spatial resolution thermal conductivity of lateral epitaxial overgrown GaN/sapphire (0001) using a scanning thermal microscope journal August 1999
On the isotope effect in thermal conductivity of silicon journal November 2004
Ab initio theory of the lattice thermal conductivity in diamond text January 2009
Pseudopotentials for high-throughput DFT calculations text January 2013
Exceptionally strong phonon scattering by B substitution in cubic SiC text January 2017
Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity of 4H and 6H Silicon Carbide Measured Using Time-Domain Thermoreflectance text January 2017
Phonon transport unveils the prevalent point defects in GaN text January 2017
Heat capacity and phonon mean free path of wurtzite GaN text January 2006
Macroscopic polarization and band offsets at nitride heterojunctions text January 1997

Cited By (6)

Thermal transport of nanoporous gallium nitride for photonic applications journal April 2019
Impact of dislocations on the thermal conductivity of gallium nitride studied by time-domain thermoreflectance journal November 2019
Thermal transport properties of GaN with biaxial strain and electron-phonon coupling journal January 2020
Long mean free paths of room-temperature THz acoustic phonons in a high thermal conductivity material journal September 2019
Ultrahigh thermal conductivity in isotope-enriched cubic boron nitride journal January 2020
Thermal expansion coefficients of high thermal conducting BAs and BP materials journal July 2019