Role of Defects in III-Nitride Based Electronics

The LDRD entitled “Role of Defects in 111-Nitrde Based Devices” is aimed to place Sandia National Laboratory at the forefront of the field of GaN materials and devices by establishing a scientific foundation in areas such as material growth, defect characterization/modeling, and processing (metalization and etching) chemistry. In this SAND report we summarize our studies such as i) the MOCVD growth and doping of GaN andAIGaN, ii) the characterization and modeling of hydrogen in GaN, including its bonding, diffusion, and activation behaviors, iii) the calculation of energetic of various defects including planar stacking faults, threading dislocations, and point defects in GaN, and iv) dry etching (plasma etching) of GaN (nand p-types) and AIGaN. The result of the first AIGaN/GaN heterojunction bipolar transistor will also be presented.