Polarization-induced 2D electron gases in N-polar AlGaN/AlN heterostructures on single-crystal AlN substrates

Zhang, Zexuan; Singhal, Jashan; Agrawal, Shivali; Kim, Eungkyun; Protasenko, Vladimir; Toita, Masato; Xing, Huili Grace; Jena, Debdeep

doi:10.1063/5.0145826

Polarization-induced 2D electron gases in N-polar AlGaN/AlN heterostructures on single-crystal AlN substrates

Journal Article · Mon May 22 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0145826· OSTI ID:2421821

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OSTI

Polarization-induced carriers play an important role in achieving high electrical conductivity in ultrawide bandgap semiconductor AlGaN, which is essential for various applications ranging from radio frequency and power electronics to deep UV photonics. Despite significant scientific and technological interest, studies on polarization-induced carriers in N-polar AlGaN are rare. We report the observation and properties of polarization-induced two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in N-polar AlGaN/AlN heterostructures on single-crystal AlN substrates by systematically varying the Al content in the 8 nm top layers from x = 0 to x = 0.6, spanning energy bandgaps from 3.56 to 4.77 eV. The 2DEG density drops monotonically with increasing Al content, from 3.8 × 1013/cm2 in the GaN channel, down to no measurable conductivity for x = 0.6. Alloy scattering limits the 2DEG mobility to below 50 cm2/V s for x = 0.49. These results provide valuable insights for designing N-polar AlGaN channel high electron mobility transistors on AlN for extreme electronics at high voltages and high temperatures, and for UV photonic devices.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021230

OSTI ID:: 2421821

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 122; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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