A 2 nm low temperature GaN spacer to improve the transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/InAlN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

Abstract

AlGaN layers were grown on InAlN/AlN/GaN heterostructure with various temperatures. The two-dimensional electron gas density and mobility in heterostructure with high temperature AlGaN were deteriorated which is attributed to the reverse polarization field of AlGaN and the degradation of InAlN structural quality and surface morphology. A 2 nm low temperature GaN spacer was inserted to reduce the risk of InAlN degradation. The improved structures demonstrated an increase of two-dimensional electron gas density and mobility compared to the heterostructures without the GaN spacer, which results in the reduction of sheet resistance. Particularly, at 855 °C, an enhancement of mobility in the improved structure indicates that the heterostructure is relatively stable at this temperature. At higher temperature of 920 °C, significant increase of sheet resistance indicates a sharp degradation of InAlN quality. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.