venugopalan-jvsta-16-607

Data for reference venugopalan-jvsta-16-607

Morphology of nickel and nickel/gold contacts to gallium nitride

H. S. Venugopalan, S. E. Mohney, J. M. DeLucca, B. P. Luther, G. E. Bulman

Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A-Vacuum Surfaces and Films 16(2), 607 (1998).

Changes in the film morphology of Ni/GaN and Au/Ni/GaN thin film contacts upon annealing have been explored at various temperatures between 400 and 800�C in N₂ gas. Scanning electron microscopy of the contacts revealed the formation of metal islands, after high-temperature annealing. Atomic force microscopy was performed on the GaN surface that was exposed by etching away the metal film. Deep, non-uniform penetration of metal into GaN was observed after annealing Ni/GaN contacts above 800�C and Au/Ni/GaN contacts above 700�C. Hence, it is suggested that anneals at temperatures as high as 700�C may not be suitable for shallow Ni/Au contacts in GaN based device structures. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the above-mentioned technique of performing AFM of semiconductor surfaces exposed by etching away the metal film is a convenient and effective way for understanding contact/semiconductor interfacial morphology.

Contributed by Hari S. Venugopalan from neodymium.metsce.psu.edu. on Tuesday, May 12, 1998 3:35:42 PM

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