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On Ni/Au Alloyed Contacts to Mg-Doped GaN

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Abstract

Ni/Au contacts to p-GaN were studied as a function of free hole concentration in GaN using planar transmission line measurement structures. All contacts showed a nonlinear behavior, which became stronger for lower doping concentrations. Electrical and structural analysis indicated that the current conduction between the contact and the p-GaN was through localized nano-sized clusters. Thus, the non-linear contact behavior can be well explained using the alloyed contact model. Two contributions to the contact resistance were identified: the spreading resistance in the semiconductor developed by the current crowding around the electrically active clusters, and diode-type behavior at the interface of the electrically active clusters with the semiconductor. Hence, the equivalent Ni/Au contact model consists of a diode and a resistor in series for each active cluster. The reduced barrier height observed in the measurements is thought to be generated by the extraction of Ga from the crystalline surface and localized formation of the Au:Ga phase. The alloyed contact analyses presented in this work are in good agreement with some of the commonly observed behavior of similar contacts described in the literature.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the support from NSF (ECCS-1610992, DMR-1312582, ECCS-1508854, DMR-1508191) and ARO (W911NF-15-2-0068, W911NF-16-C-0101) for funding this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7919, USA

    Biplab Sarkar, Pramod Reddy, Andrew Klump,  Felix Kaess, Robert Rounds, Ronny Kirste, Seiji Mita, Erhard Kohn, Ramon Collazo & Zlatko Sitar

  2. Adroit Materials, 2054 Kildaire Farm Road, Suite 205, Cary, NC, 27518, USA

    Pramod Reddy, Ronny Kirste, Seiji Mita & Zlatko Sitar

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  1. Biplab Sarkar
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  2. Pramod Reddy
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Correspondence to Biplab Sarkar.

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Sarkar, B., Reddy, P., Klump, A. et al. On Ni/Au Alloyed Contacts to Mg-Doped GaN. J. Electron. Mater. 47, 305–311 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-017-5775-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-017-5775-3

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