Al mole fraction dependence of deep levels in AlGaN/GaN-HEMT structures estimated by CV profiling

Abstract

Current-voltage (IV) measurements and capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements have been carried out to investigate electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN-HEMT structures. By CV measurements of Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with large leak currents, we observed a distinct peak in CV profiling at low frequencies. The integral of this peak was found to have a correlation with a leak current. The behavior of this peak might be described by the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) model if we assume this peak is due to a phenomenon of an electron emission and capture by deep levels. Then Quasi-Fermi Level (Imref) at the bias point where this peak appears in CV profiling corresponds to energy depth of deep levels. That energy level can be approximated by Imref of two-dimensional (2D) electron gas. The result of our samples showed that the energy depth of deep levels from the conduction band is distributed from 320meV to 470meV for Al mole fraction from 0.19 to 0.30, respectively.