Wide bandgap semiconductor materials and devices

Journal Article · Fri Jun 17 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0100601· OSTI ID:1883016

Varley, Joel B.  ^[1]; Shen, Bo ^[2]; Higashiwaki, Masataka  ^[3]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
2. Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
3. Osaka Metropolitan University (Japan); National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Tokyo (Japan)

The technological and societal impacts of electronic devices based on Ge, Si, and compound semiconductors like GaAs have been profound, fueling the decades long quest in identifying ever-larger bandgap semiconductors to untap new applications and possibilities. Specifically, an increase in the bandgap leads to shorter wavelength emission and an increased breakdown electric field, which has direct consequences for solid-state lighting like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) from the visible (blue-green, blue, and violet) and beyond (UV and deep-UV) spectral range and for radically improved power devices supported by a higher intrinsic breakdown strength. Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors represent the frontier of materials that satisfy these criteria and include group IV, III–V, and II–VI material families like SiC (3.2 eV), GaN (3.4 eV), and ZnO (3.4 eV), respectively. With even larger bandgaps exceeding 4 eV, ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors include diamond, III-nitrides incorporating Al and B (e.g., AlN, BN, and AlGaN), and sesquioxides like Ga₂O₃ and (Al,Ga)₂O₃. These materials span widely varying stages of technological maturity, with SiC and GaN platforms among the most mature with commercially available devices in RF and high-power electronics, while other platforms such as Ga₂O₃ rapidly advancing and poised to enable new UV and deep-UV optoelectronic devices. This Special Topic on Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices covers broad research subtopics on WBG and UWBG materials that span bulk crystals, epitaxy and substrate technologies, fundamental defect science, and doping, as well as electronic and optoelectronic device fabrication and characterization. Here, we highlight works from the collection, which we categorize by material platform of SiC, III-nitrides, and Ga₂O₃ and related alloys.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC52-07NA27344
• OSTI ID: 1883016
• Report Number(s): LLNL-JRNL-835418; 1054340; TRN: US2308148
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 131, Issue 23; ISSN 0021-8979
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics (AIP)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
chemical vapor deposition
thin films
etching
epitaxy
Schottky barrier diode
semiconductors
electrical properties and parameters
crystalline solids