Effect of surface modification on the radiation stability of diamond ohmic contacts

The ohmic contact interface between diamond and metal is essential for the application of diamond detectors.Surface modification can significantly affect the contact performance and eliminate the interface polarization effect.However,the radiation stability of a diamond detector is also sensitive to surface modification.In this work,the influence of surface modification technology on a diamond ohmic contact under high-energy radiation was investigated.Before radiation,the specific contact resistivities(ρc)between Ti/Pt/Au-hydrogen-terminated diamond(H-diamond)and Ti/Pt/Au-oxygenterminated diamond(O-diamond)were 2.0×10^(-4)W·cm^(2) and 4.3×10^(-3)Wcm^(2),respectively.After 10 MeV electron radiation,the ρc of Ti/Pt/Au H-diamond and Ti/Pt/Au O-diamond were 5.3×10^(-3)W·cm^(2)and 9.1×10^(-3)W·cm^(2),respectively.The rates of change of ρc of H-diamond and O-diamond after radiation were 2550%and 112%,respectively.The electron radiation promotes bond reconstruction of the diamond surface,resulting in an increase in ρc.

Physical mechanism of oxygen diffusion in the formation of Ga_(2)O_(3) Ohmic contacts

The formation of low-resistance Ohmic contacts in Ga_(2)O_(3) is crucial for high-performance electronic devices. Conventionally, a titanium/gold(Ti/Au) electrode is rapidly annealed to achieve Ohmic contacts, resulting in mutual diffusion of atoms at the interface. However, the specific role of diffusing elements in Ohmic contact formation remains unclear.In this work, we investigate the contribution of oxygen atom diffusion to the formation of Ohmic contacts in Ga_(2)O_(3). We prepare a Ti/Au electrode on a single crystal substrate and conduct a series of electrical and structural characterizations.Using density functional theory, we construct a model of the interface and calculate the charge density, partial density of states, planar electrostatic potential energy, and I–V characteristics. Our results demonstrate that the oxygen atom diffusion effectively reduces the interface barrier, leading to low-resistance Ohmic contacts in Ga_(2)O_(3). These findings provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of Ohmic contact formation and highlight the importance of considering the oxygen atom diffusion in the design of Ga_(2)O_(3)-based electronic devices.

Low-resistance ohmic contacts on InAlN/GaN heterostructures with MOCVD-regrown n+-InGaN and mask-free regrowth process

This paper studied the low-resistance ohmic contacts on InAlN/GaN with metal–organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD)regrowth technique.The 150-nm regrown n-InGaN exhibits a low sheet resistance of 31Ω/□,resulting in an extremely low contact resistance of 0.102Ω·mm between n^(+)-InGaN and InAlN/GaN channels.Mask-free regrowth process was also used to significantly improve the sheet resistance of InAlN/GaN with MOCVD regrown ohmic contacts.Then,the diffusion mechanism between n^(+)-InGaN and InAlN during regrowth process was investigated with electrical and structural characterizations,which could benefit the further process optimization.

Evidence of the Role of Carbon Vacancies in Nickel-Based Ohmic Contacts to n-Type Silicon Carbide

N-wells are created by P＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 4H-SiC epilayer. Ti and Ni are deposited in sequence on the surface of the active regions. Ni2Si is identified as the dominant phase by X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis after metallization annealing. An amorphous C film at the Ni2 Si/SiC interface is confirmed by an X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometer （XEDS）. The Ni2Si and amorphous C film are etched away selectively,followed by deposition of new metal films without annealing. Measurement of the current-voltage characteristics shows that the contacts are still ohmic after the Ni2 Si and amorphous C film are replaced by new metal films. The sheet resistance Rsh of the implanted layers decreases from 975 to 438f2/D, because carbon vacancies （Vc） appeared during annealing,which act as donors for electrons in SiC.

Fabrication of n^+ Polysilicon Ohmic Contacts with a Heterojunction Structure to n-Type 4H-Silicon Carbide

Polysilicon ohmic contacts to n-type 4H-SiC have been fabricated. TLM （transfer length method） test patterns with polysilicon structure are formed on n-wells created by phosphorus ion （P^＋） implantation into a Si-faced p-type 4H-SiC epilayer. The polysilicon is deposited using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition （LPCVD） and doped by phosphorous ions implantation followed by diffusion to obtain a sheet resistance of 22Ω/□. The specific contact resistance pc of n^＋ polysilicon contact to n-type 4H-SiC as low as 3.82 × 10^-5Ω· cm^2 is achieved. The result for sheet resistance Rsh of the phosphorous ion implanted layers in SiC is about 4.9kΩ/□. The mechanisms for n^＋ polysilicon ohmic contact to n-type SiC are discussed.

Ohmic Contact Properties of Multi-Metal Films on n-Type 4H-SiC

An investigation of Au/Ti/Ni and Au/Ti/Pt ohmic contacts to n-type 4H-SiC and the behavior of metal films on SiC with thermal anneals is reported. Specific contact resistance as low as 2. 765 x 10^-6Ω·cm^2 was achieved after rapid thermal annealing in N2 for 2min at 950℃. SIMS analysis shows that the formation of Ni silicide after annealing supported a number of carbon atoms＇ outdiffusion from the SiC to form interstitial compound TiC. This process can create abundant C vacancies near the interface. It is the carbon defect layer that enhances the defect-assisted tunneling. The interface band structure within the defect level could make it clear why the metal-SiC contacts become ohmic during annealing.

A Novel Ideal Ohmic Contact SiGeC/Si Power Diode with Graded Doping Concentration

A novel structure of ideal ohmic contact p^＋ （SiGeC）-n^- -n^＋ diodes with three-step graded doping concentration in the base region is presented, and the changing doping concentration gradient is also optimized. Using MEDICI, the physical parameter models applicable for SiGeC/Si heterojunction power diodes are given. The simulation results indicate that the diodes with graded doping concentration in the base region not only have the merit of fast and soft reverse recovery but also double reverse blocking voltage,and their forward conducting voltage has dropped to some extent,compared to the diodes with constant doping concentration in the base region. The new structure achieves a good trade-off in Qs-Vf-Ir ,and its combination of properties is superior to ideal ohmic contact diodes and conventional diodes.

Formation of Nickel Based Ohmic Contact to High Energy Vanadium Implanted n-Type 4H-SiC

The diffusion behavior of vanadium （V） implanted in SiC is investigated by secondary ion mass spec- trometry. Significant redistribution, especially out-diffusion of vanadium towards the sample surface, is not ob- served after 1650℃ annealing. Higher carrier concentration is obtained due to a lack of compensation of vanadium in the surface region. The electrical characteristics of Ni contacts to V-implanted n-type 4H-SiC are investigated using a linear transmission line method. A specific contact resistance as low as 4.4 × 10^-3Ω · cmA^2 is achieved after annealing at 1050℃ for 10min in gas ambient consisting of 90% N2 and 10% H2 X-ray diffraction analysis shows the formation of Ni2 Si and graphite phase at the interface after annealing. This provides the evidence that the car- bon vacancies,resulting from the out-diffusion of carbon atoms from SiC, contribute to the formation of ohmic contact through the reduction of effective Schottky barrier height for the transport of electrons.

Ohmic Contacts to n-Type Al_(0.6)Ga_(0.4)N for Solar-Blind Detectors

We investigate the contact characteristics of bi-layer thin films, Ti（20nm）/Al（200nm） on Si-doped n-type A10.6 Ga0.4 N films grown on sapphire substrate. The surface treatment was aqua regia boiling before metallization and annealing after metallization at different conditions in N2 ambient. High resolution X-ray diffractometery analysis was carried out on the contacts and the surface interfaces of these conditions were compared. A specific contact resistivity pc was determined using the circular transmission line method via current-voltage measurements. A pc of 3.42 × 10^-4 Ω·cm^2 was achieved when annealed at 670℃ for 90s. Then, this ideal ohmic contact was used in back-illuminated solar-blind AlGaN p- i-n detectors and the detectors＇ performances, such as spectral responsivity, dark-current,and breakdown voltage were optimized.

Ni/Pd-based ohmic contacts to p-GaN through p-InGaN/p^(+)-GaN contacting layers

Specific contact resistance to p-GaN was measured for various structures of Ni/Pd-based metals and thin(20-30 nm thick)p-InGaN/p^(+)-GaN contacting layers.The effects of surface chemical treatment and annealing temperature were ex-amined.The optimal annealing temperature was determined to be 550°C,above which the sheet resistance of the samples de-graded considerably,suggesting that undesirable alloying had occurred.Pd-containing metal showed~35%lower com-pared to that of single Ni.Very thin(2-3.5 nm thick)p-InGaN contacting layers grown on 20-25 nm thick p^(+)-GaN layers exhib-ited one to two orders of magnitude smaller values of compared to that of p^(+)-GaN without p-InGaN.The current density de-pendence of,which is indicative of nonlinearity in current-voltage relation,was also examined.The lowest achieved through this study was 4.9×10^(-5)Ω·cm^(2)@J=3.4 kA/cm^(2).

Characteristics of Ni-based ohmic contacts on n-type 4H-SiC using different annealing methods

Nickel is an excellent ohmic-contact metal on 4H-SiC.This paper discusses the formation mechanism of nickel ohmic contact on 4HSiC by assessing the electrical properties and microstructural change.Under high-temperature annealing,the phase of nickel-silicon compound can be observed with X-ray diffraction,and the contact resistance also changes.A comparative experiment was designed to use X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive spectroscopy to clarify the difference of ohmic-contact material composition and elemental analysis between samples prepared using pulsed laser annealing and rapid thermal annealing.It is found that more Ni2Si and carbon vacancies formed at the interface in the sample prepared using pulsed laser annealing,resulting in a better ohmic-contact characteristic.

The fabrication of nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-silicon carbide

This paper reports that the nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-SiC have been fabricated. Transfer length method test patterns with NiSi/SiC and NiSi2/SiC structure axe formed on N-wells created by N^＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 6H-SiC epilayer respectively. NiSi and NiSi2 films are prepared by annealing the Ni and Si films separately deposited. A two-step annealing technology is performed for decreasing of oxidation problems occurred during high temperature processes. The specific contact resistance Pc of NiSi contact to n-type 6H-SiC as low as 1.78× 10^-6Ωcm^2 is achieved after a two-step annealing at 350 ℃for 20 min and 950℃ for 3 min in N2. And 3.84×10-6Ωcm^2 for NiSi2 contact is achieved. The result for sheet resistance Rsh of the N＋ implanted layers is about 1210Ω/□. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the formation of nickel silicide phases at the metal/n-SiC interface after thermal annealing. The surfaces of the nickel silicide after thermal annealing are analysed by scanning electron microscope.

High energy electron radiation effect on Ni/4H-SiC SBD and Ohmic contact

The Ni/4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） and transfer length method （TLM） test patterns of Ni/4H-SiC Ohmic contacts were fabricated, and irradiated with i MeV electrons up to a dose of 3.43 × 10^14 e/cm^-2. After radiation, the forward currents of the SBDs at 2 V decreased by about 50%, and the reverse currents at -200 V increased by less than 30%. Schottky barrier height （ФB） of the Ni/4H-SiC SBD increased from 1.20 eV to 1.21 eV under 0 V irradiation bias, and decreased from 1.25 eV to 1.19 eV under -30 V irradiation bias. The degradation of ФB could be explained by the variation of interface states of Schottky contacts. The on-state resistance （Rs） and the reverse current increased with the dose, which can be ascribed to the radiation defects in bulk material. The specific contact resistance （ρc） of the Ni/SiC Ohmic contact increased from 5.11× 10^-5Ω· cm^2 to 2.97× 10^-4Ω· cm^2.

Ti-Al based ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-SiC with ion implantation

The Ti-Al ohmic contact to n-type 6H-SiC has been fabricated. An array of TLM （transfer length method） test patterns with Au/Ti/A1/Ti/SiC structure is formed on N-wells created by P^＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 6H-SiC epilayer. The specific contact resistance pc as low as 8.64×10-6Ω·cm^2 is achieved after annealing in N2 at 900℃ for 5min. The sheet resistance Rsh of the implanted layers is 975Ω. X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis shows the formation of Ti3SiC2 at the metal/n-SiC interface after thermal annealing, which is responsible for the low resistance contact.

High-Frequency AlGaN/GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistors with Regrown Ohmic Contacts by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Nonalloyed ohmic contacts regrown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition are performed on AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors. Low ohmic contact resistance of 0.15Ω.mm is obtained. It is found that the sidewall obliquity near the regrown interface induced by the plasma dry etching has great influence on the total contact resistance. The fabricated device with a 100-nm T-shaped gate demonstrates a maximum drain current density of 0.95 A/mm at Vgs = 1 V and a maximum peak extrinsic transcondutance Gm of 216mS/ram. Moreover, a current gain cut-off frequency fT of 115 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency fmax of 127 GHz are achieved.

Ohmic contact properties of p-type surface conductive layer on H-terminated diamond films prepared by DC arc jet CVD

With the advantages of high deposition rate and large deposition area, polycrystalline diamond films prepared by direct current （DC） arc jet chemical vapor deposition （CVD） are considered to be one of the most promising materials for high-frequency and high-power electronic devices. In this paper, high-quality self-standing polycrystalline diamond films with the diameter of 100 mm were prepared by DC arc jet CVD, and then, the p-type surface conductive layer with the sheet carrier density of 10^11-10^13 cm-2 on the H-terminated diamond film was obtained by micro-wave hydrogen plasma treatment for 40 min. Ti/Au and Au films were deposited on the H-terminated diamond surface as the ohmic contact electrode, respectively, afterwards, they were treated by rapid vacuum annealing at different temperatures. The properties of these two types of ohmic contacts were investigated by measuring the specific contact resistance using the transmission line method （TLM）. Due to the formation of Ti-related carbide at high temperature, the specific contact resistance of Ti/Au contact gradually decreases to 9.95 × 10^-5 Ω-cm2 as the temperature increases to 820℃. However, when the annealing temperature reaches 850℃, the ohmic contact for Ti/Au is degraded significantly due to the strong diffusion and reaction between Ti and Au. As for the as-deposited Au contact, it shows an ohmic contact. After annealing treatment at 550℃, low specific contact resistance was detected for Au contact, which is derived from the enhancement of interdiffusion between Au and diamond films.

Analysis of the abnormal resistance in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure's ohmic contact tests

Ti/Al/Ti/Au and Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contacts were fabricated on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure under different temperatures of rapid thermal processing （RTP）. Since abnormal resistance values were observed during the contact resistance testing,the surface morphology and contact borders of the samples were analyzed to determine the physical mechanism. Such abnormal phenomenon is found to originate from cracking of the AlGaN layer during RTP,flowing of Ti/Al metallic liquid along the crevices,and continuous reaction of the metallic liquid with AlGaN/GaN. Such processes result in abnormal conduction channels. The possible mechanism of the crevice formation was discussed,and the possible solutions to avoid the crevices were proposed.

Low-resistance Ohmic contact on polarization-doped AlGaN/GaN heterojunction

High electronic density is achieved by polarization doping without an impurity dopant in graded AIGaN films. Low specific contact resistance is studied on the polarization-doped A1GaN/GaN heterojunctions by using the transmission line method （TLM）. The sheet density of polarization-doped A1GaN/GaN heterojunction is 6 × 10 14 cm-2 at room temperature. The linearly graded material structure is demonstrated by X-ray diffraction. The cartier concentration and mobility are characterized by a temperature-dependent Hall measurement. Multiple-layer metal （Ti/A1/Ti/Au） is deposited and annealed at 650 ℃ to realize the Ohmic contacts on the graded A1GaN/GaN heterojunctions.

Ohmic contacts of 4H-SiC on ion-implantation layers

The ohmic contacts of 4H-SiC are fabricated on nitrogen ion implanted layers made by performing box-like-profile implantation three and four times. Implantation parameters such as the standard deviation σ and the projection range Rp are calculated by the Monte Carlo simulator TRIM. Ni/Cr ohmic contacts on Si-face 4H-SiC implantation layers are measured by transfer length methods （TLMs）. The results show that the values of sheet resistance Rsh are 30 kΩ/□ and 4.9 kΩ/□ and the values of specific contact resistance Pc of ohmic contacts are 7.1 × 10^-4 Ω. cm^2 and 9.5× 10^-5Ω. cm^2 for the implanted layers with implantation performed three and four times respectively.

Formation of the intermediate semiconductor layer for the Ohmic contact to silicon carbide using Germanium implantation

By formation of an intermediate semiconductor layer （ISL） with a narrow band gap at the metallic contact/SiC interface, this paper realises a new method to fabricate the low-resistance Ohmic contacts for SiC. An array of transfer length method （TLM） test patterns is formed on N-wells created by P＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 4H- SiC epilayer. The ISL of nickel-metal Ohmic contacts to n-type 4H-SiC could be formed by using Germanium ion implantation into SiC. The specific contact resistance pc as low as 4.23×10-5Ω·cm2 is achieved after annealing in N2 at 800 ℃ for 3 min, which is much lower than that （〉 900℃） in the typical SiC metallisation process. The sheet resistance Rsh of the implanted layers is 1.5 kΩ/□. The technique for converting photoresist into nanocrystalline graphite is used to protect the SiC surface in the annealing after Ge＋ ion implantations.