Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices

The design of modern semiconductor devices often requires the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures to integrate microelectronic components with photonic, micromechanical, or sensor systems within one semiconductor substrate. It is a technologically challenging task, as a strictly defined...

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Main Authors: Michał Stępniak, Mateusz Wośko, Joanna Prażmowska-Czajka, Andrzej Stafiniak, Dariusz Przybylski, Regina Paszkiewicz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-12-01
Series:Electronics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/12/2129
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author Michał Stępniak
Mateusz Wośko
Joanna Prażmowska-Czajka
Andrzej Stafiniak
Dariusz Przybylski
Regina Paszkiewicz
author_facet Michał Stępniak
Mateusz Wośko
Joanna Prażmowska-Czajka
Andrzej Stafiniak
Dariusz Przybylski
Regina Paszkiewicz
author_sort Michał Stępniak
collection DOAJ
description The design of modern semiconductor devices often requires the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures to integrate microelectronic components with photonic, micromechanical, or sensor systems within one semiconductor substrate. It is a technologically challenging task, as a strictly defined profile of the device structure is obligatory. This can be achieved either by chemical etching or selective deposition on a masked substrate. In this paper, the growth uniformity of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures during selective-area metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) was studied. Such structures are typically used in order to fabricate high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT). The semiconductor material was deposited through 200 μm long stripe-shaped open windows in a SiO<sub>2</sub> mask on GaN/sapphire templates. The window width was varied from 5 μm to 160 μm, whereas mask width separating particular windows varied from 5 μm to 40 μm. The experiment was repeated for three samples differing in GaN layer thickness: 150 nm, 250 nm, and 500 nm. Based on theoretical models of the selective growth, a sufficiently uniform thickness of epitaxially grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructure has been achieved by selecting the window half-width that is smaller than the diffusion length of the precursor molecules. A Ga diffusion length of 15 μm was experimentally extracted by measuring the epitaxial material agglomeration in windows in the dielectric mask. Measurements were conducted while using optical profilometry.
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spelling doaj.art-eb6a916123be443b87f1c489c13d59692023-11-21T00:32:35ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922020-12-01912212910.3390/electronics9122129Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor DevicesMichał Stępniak0Mateusz Wośko1Joanna Prażmowska-Czajka2Andrzej Stafiniak3Dariusz Przybylski4Regina Paszkiewicz5Faculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandThe design of modern semiconductor devices often requires the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures to integrate microelectronic components with photonic, micromechanical, or sensor systems within one semiconductor substrate. It is a technologically challenging task, as a strictly defined profile of the device structure is obligatory. This can be achieved either by chemical etching or selective deposition on a masked substrate. In this paper, the growth uniformity of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures during selective-area metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) was studied. Such structures are typically used in order to fabricate high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT). The semiconductor material was deposited through 200 μm long stripe-shaped open windows in a SiO<sub>2</sub> mask on GaN/sapphire templates. The window width was varied from 5 μm to 160 μm, whereas mask width separating particular windows varied from 5 μm to 40 μm. The experiment was repeated for three samples differing in GaN layer thickness: 150 nm, 250 nm, and 500 nm. Based on theoretical models of the selective growth, a sufficiently uniform thickness of epitaxially grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructure has been achieved by selecting the window half-width that is smaller than the diffusion length of the precursor molecules. A Ga diffusion length of 15 μm was experimentally extracted by measuring the epitaxial material agglomeration in windows in the dielectric mask. Measurements were conducted while using optical profilometry.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/12/2129selective area growthselective epitaxyAlGaN/GaN heterostructuresgallium nitrideedge effectseffective diffusion length
spellingShingle Michał Stępniak
Mateusz Wośko
Joanna Prażmowska-Czajka
Andrzej Stafiniak
Dariusz Przybylski
Regina Paszkiewicz
Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices
Electronics
selective area growth
selective epitaxy
AlGaN/GaN heterostructures
gallium nitride
edge effects
effective diffusion length
title Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices
title_full Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices
title_fullStr Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices
title_full_unstemmed Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices
title_short Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices
title_sort growth uniformity in selective area epitaxy of algan gan heterostructures for the application in semiconductor devices
topic selective area growth
selective epitaxy
AlGaN/GaN heterostructures
gallium nitride
edge effects
effective diffusion length
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/12/2129
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