(Invited) Optical Characterization of Bulk GaN Substrates and Homoepitaxial Films
Authors: Freitas Jaime A. , Culbertson James C. , Hite Jennifer K. , Gallangher James , Ebrish Mona , Mastro Michael , Anderson Travis J. 
Published: November 2022

Low ON-resistance and high breakdown voltage, made possible by improved critical electric field and mobility, has promoted GaN from a potential to the most promising semiconductor material for use in the next-generation of medium- and high voltage-power converters. The commercial availability of large area substrates, produced by HVPE (Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxial, a quasi-bulk deposition technique) and ammonothermal bulk growth method, provides wafers with reduce concentrations of extended defect, allows the deposition of electronic grade epitaxial films and the realization of high performance electronic devices. Despite that, many steps of substrate preparation, such as miss-cut orientation and surface finishing, must be improved and standardized to yield reproducible epitaxial film growth. To verify the importance of substrate characteristics on the intrinsic properties of homoepitaxial MOCVD films, we initially evaluated substrate provided by various commercial supplies. The substrate effects on epi morphology, uniformity, and impurity incorporation were substantiated by growing simultaneously on wafers from different vendors. The goal of this work is to detect and identify defects in GaN substrates with a series of quick, non-destructive, inexpensive techniques with capabilities of mapping whole wafers.

All evaluated substrates had nominally similar as-received specifications (resistivity, thickness, off-cut angle, bow, surface finish). The substrates were evaluated with a variety of techniques including Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, white light interferometry, and Nomarski imaging, enabling the detection of different concentrations of grain boundaries, impurities, point defects, v-shaped pits, polishing defects, crystal stress damage, and non-uniform insulating and conductive regions. The substrates can be grouped in two different categories: those with uniform characteristics, including carrier concentration, and those without. Comparing these results to those from homoepitaxial growth on the same wafers, the effects are both subtle and overt. Macroscopic surface morphology, which has shown a direct correlation to leakage current, copies and exaggerates that of the underlying substrate. Photoluminescence of the homoepitaxial surface along with Raman spectroscopy show that non-uniformities in the substrate carrier concentration can continue into the epitaxy.

If time permits, results from vertical Schottky diodes, fabricated to quickly evaluate device performance, will presented. While most of the films showed the ability to withstand high electric fields, more uniform electrical properties were observed for those grown on substrates having more uniform properties. These results show that improving bulk substrates is the path to high voltage vertical devices, and that such substrates have a significant influence on device performance.

Acknowledgments:

Work at NRL is supported by the Office of Naval Research