Effect of hydrogen on Ca and Mg acceptors in GaN

Technical Report · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/231543· OSTI ID:231543

Lee, J W; Pearton, S J ^[1]; Zolper, J C ^[2]; Stall, R A ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
2. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
3. EMCORE Corp., Somerset, NJ (United States)

The influence of minority carrier injection on the reactivation of hydrogen passivated Mg in GaN at 175 C has been investigated in p-n junction diodes. The dissociation of the neutral MgH complexes is greatly enhanced in the presence of minority carrier and the reactivation process follows second order kinetics. Conventional annealing under zero-bias conditions does not produce Mg-H dissociation until temperatures {ge} 450 C. These results provide an explanation for the e-beam induced reactivation of Mg acceptors in hydrogenated GaN. Exposure to a hydrogen plasma at 250 C of p-type GaN (Ca) prepared by either Ca{sup +} or Ca{sup +} plus P{sup +} coimplantation leads to a reduction in sheet carrier density of approximately an order of magnitude (1.6 {times} 10{sup 12} cm{sup {minus}2} to 1.8 {times} 10{sup 11} cm{sup {minus}2}), and an accompanying increase in hole mobility (6 cm{sup 2}/Vs to 18 cm{sup 2}/Vs). The passivation process can be reversed by post-hydrogenation annealing at 400--500 C under a N{sub 2} ambient. This reactivation of the acceptors is characteristic of the formation of neutral (Ca-H) complexes in the GaN. The thermal stability of the passivation is similar to that of Mg-H complexes in material prepared in the same manner (implantation) with similar initial doping levels. Hydrogen passivation of acceptor dopants in GaN appears to be a ubiquitous phenomenon, as it is in other p-type semiconductors.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States); Office of Naval Research, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 231543
• Report Number(s): SAND--96-0784C; CONF-960502--7; ON: DE96008172; CNN: DMR-9421109; N00014-92-3-1895
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
CALCIUM
CARRIER DENSITY
CARRIER MOBILITY
CHARGE CARRIERS
CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERES
CRYSTAL DOPING
DOPED MATERIALS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRON BEAMS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GALLIUM NITRIDES
HYDROGEN
ION IMPLANTATION
JUNCTION DIODES
MAGNESIUM
MAGNESIUM HYDRIDES
METALLURGICAL EFFECTS
NITROGEN
REGENERATION