Impact of pits formed in the AlN nucleation layer on buffer leakage in GaN/AlGaN high electron mobility transistor structures on Si (111)

Limiting buffer layer current leakage is essential for the realization of high breakdown fields in GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). In this report, we demonstrate the importance of controlling the surface morphology of the AlN nucleation layer (NL) in limiting this leakage. Testing on a self-consistent series of samples grown under two different AlN NL conditions revealed the presence of leakage paths within the epilayers grown using a single temperature AlN NL owing to the presence of surface pits. The introduction of a higher temperature AlN in the NL drastically reduced the pit density and led to a large reduction (>103) in the lateral and vertical buffer leakage in HEMT structures. Using conductive atomic force microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and temperature-dependent carrier transport measurements, we confirm that these pits—which originate in the AlN NL, thread vertically, and propagate into the device structures—are associated with leakage paths, thus reducing the field that can be dropped across the epilayers. This is explained by invoking preferential oxygen segregation at their side-facets. It is shown that when a pit-free surface is maintained, a vertical field of 1.6 MV/cm can be achieved for HEMTs. This study is expected to benefit the development of high-performance GaN HEMTs in moving toward the theoretical breakdown field of III-nitrides.