• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.29.1-29.1
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• 2009

Fabrication of good quality P-type GaN remained as a challenge for many years which hindered the III-V nitrides from yielding visible light emitting devices. Firstly Amano et al succeeded in obtaining P-type GaN films using Mg doping and post Low Energy Electron Beam Irradiation (LEEBI) treatment. However only few region of the P-GaN was activated by LEEBI treatment. Later Nakamura et al succeeded in producing good quality P-GaN by thermal annealing method in which the as deposited P-GaN samples were annealed in N2 ambient at temperatures above $600^{\circ}C$. The carrier concentration of N type and P-type GaN differs by one order which have a major effect in AlGaN based deep UV-LED fabrication. So increasing the P-type GaN concentration becomes necessary. In this study we have proposed a novel method of activating P-type GaN by electrochemical potentiostatic method. Hydrogen bond in the Mg-H complexes of the P-type GaN is removed by electrochemical reaction using KOH solution as an electrolyte solution. Full structure LED sample grown by MOCVD serves as anode and platinum electrode serves as cathode. Experiments are performed by varying KOH concentration, process time and applied voltage. Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis is performed to determine the hydrogen concentration in the P-GaN sample activated by annealing and electrochemical method. Results suggest that the hydrogen concentration is lesser in P-GaN sample activated by electrochemical method than conventional annealing method. The output power of the LED is also enhanced for full structure samples with electrochemical activated P-GaN. Thus we propose an efficient method for P-GaN activation by electrochemical reaction. 30% improvement in light output is obtained by electrochemical activation method.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.441-448
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• 2002

The electrical properties of the GaN-based green light emitting diodes(LEDs) with the Mg-doped p-GaN layer activated in $N_2$ or $O_2$ ambient have been compared. For the $N_2$ -ambient activation the current-voltage behavior of LEDs has been found to be improved when the Mg dopants activation was performed in the higher temperature. However, for the $O_2$-ambient activation the current-voltage characteristic has been observed to be enhanced when the Mg dopants activation was carried out in the lower temperature. The minimum forward voltage at 20mA was obtained to be 4.8 V for LEDs with the p-GaN layer activated at $900^{\circ}C$ in the $N_2$ ambient and 4.5V for LEDs with the p-GaN layer treated at $700^{\circ}C$ in the $O_2$ambient, repectively. The forward voltage reduction of the LEDs treated in the $O_2$-ambient may be related to the oxygen co-doping of the p-GaN layer during the activation process. The $O_2$ -ambient activation process is useful for the enhancement of the LED performance as well as the fabrication process since this process can activate the Mg dopants in the low temperature.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.59-63
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• 2017

The n-type GaN semiconductor has excellent properties as a photoelectrode, but it has disadvantage that its reliability is deteriorated due to the photocorrosion because the oxygen reaction occurs on the surface. For this reason, there are fundamental attempts to avoid photocorrosion reaction of GaN surfaces by using the p-type GaN as a photoelectrode where hydrogen generation reaction occurs on the surface. However, p-type GaN has a problem of low efficiency because of its high resistivity and low hole mobility. In this study, we try to improve the photocurrent efficiency by activation process for the p-type GaN. The p-type GaN was annealed for 1 min. at $500^{\circ}C$ in $N_2$ atmosphere. Hall effect measurement system was used for the electrical properties and potentiostat (PARSTAT4000) was used to measure the photoelectrochemical (PEC) characteristics. Consequently, the photocurrent density was improved more than 1.5 times by improving the activation process for the p-type GaN. Also, its reliability was maintained for 3 hours.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.113-114
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• 2008

Conventional furnace annealing (CFA) for activating Mg-doped p-type GaN films had been performed in pure $N_2$ ambient. All sample activated the same gas ambient. The annealing process change temperature: the first process is performed at $550^{\circ}C$ for 10 min. but, the first process is the same bulk. From second to five process increase activation temperature to change $50^{\circ}C$ and annealing time keeping for 10 min. It is found that the samples characteristic measure hall measurement. Similar results were also evidenced by photoluminescence (PL) measurement.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.85-89
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• 2021

AlGaN-based UV-C light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were applied for p-type activation by electrochemical potentiostatic activation (EPA). The p-type activation efficiency was increased by removing hydrogen atoms through EPA treatment using a neutral Mg-H complex that causes high resistance and low conductivity. A neutral Mg-H complex is decomposed into Mg^- and H⁺ depending on the key parameters of solution, voltage, and time. The improved hole carrier concentration was confirmed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis. This mechanism eventually improved the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), the light extraction efficiency, the leakage current value in the reverse current region, and junction temperature, resulting in better UV-C LED lifetime. For systematic analysis, SIMS, Etamax IQE system, integrating sphere, and current-voltage measurement system were used, and the results were compared with the existing N₂-annealing method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.114-114
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• 2000

III-nitride 게 물질들은 blue와 UV 영역의 LED, LD와 같은 광소자뿐만 아니라 HBT, FET와 같은 전자소자로도 널리 응용되고 있다. 이와 같은 물질을 이용한 소자를 제작할 경우 낮은 저항의 ohmic contact은 필수적이다. p-GaN의 ohmic contact은 아직까지 많은 문제점을 내포하고 있다. 그 중의 하나는 높은 doping 농도(>1018cm-3)의 p-GaN 박막을 성장하기가 어렵다는 것이며, 또 하나는 낮은 접촉 비저항을 얻기 위해선 7.5eV 이상의 큰 재가 function을 지닌 금속을 선택해야 한다. 그러나 5.5eV 이상의 재가 function을 갖는 금속은 존재하지 않는다. 위와 같은 문제점들은 p-GaN의 접촉 비저항이 10-2$\Omega$cm2이상의 높은 값을 갖게 만들고 있으며 이에 대한 해결방안으로는 고온의 열처리를 통하여 p-GaN와 금속사이에서 화학적 반응을 일으킴으로써 표면근처에서 캐리어농도를 증가시키고, 캐리어 수송의 형태가 tunneling 형태로 일어날 수 있도록 하는 tunneling current mechaism을 이용하는 것이다. 이에 본 연구에서는 MOCVD로 성장된 p-GaN 박막을 Mg의 activation을 증가시키기 위해 N2 분위기에서 4분간 80$0^{\circ}C$에서 RTA로 annealing을 하였으며, ohmic 접촉을 위한 금속으로 높은 재가 function과 좋은 adhesion 그리고 낮은 자체저항을 가지고 있는 Ni/ZSi/Ni/Au를 ohmic metal로 하여 contact한 후에 $700^{\circ}C$에서 1분간 rapid thermal annealing (RTA) 처리를 했다. contact resistance를 계산하기 위해 circular-TLM method를 이용하여 I-V 특성을 조사하였고, interface interaction을 알아보기 위해 SEM과 EDX, 그리고 XRD로 분석하였다. 또한 추가적으로 Si 계열의 compound metal인 PdSi와 PtSi에 대한 I-V 특성도 조사하여 비교하여 보았다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.120-120
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• 1999

III-nitride계 물질들은 blue와 UV 영역의 LED, LD와 같은 광소자뿐만 아니라 HBT, FET와 같은 전자소자로도 널리 응용되고 있다. 이와 같은 물질을 이용한 소자를 제작할 수 있는 낮은 저항의 ohmic contact은 필수적이다. Al이나 Ti와 같은 물질을 기초로 한 n-GaN의 경우는 이미 많은 연구결과가 발표되어 전기적 광학적 소자를 동작하는데 충분히 낮은 ohmic contact저항( )을 었다. 그러나 p-GaN의 ohmic contact은 아직까지 많은 문제점을 내포하고 있다. 그 중의 하나는 높은 doping 농도( )의 p-GaN 박막을 성장하기가 어렵다는 것이며, 또 하나는 낮은 접촉 비저항을 얻기 위해선 7.5eV이상의 큰 재가 function을 지닌 금속을 선택해야 한다. 그러나 5.5eV 이상의 재가 function을 갖는 금속은 존재하지 않는다. 위와 같은 문제점들은 p-GaN의 접촉 비저항이 이상의 높은 값을 갖게 만들고 있으며, 이에 대한 해경방안으로는 고온의 열처리를 통하여 p-GaN와 금속 사이에서 화학적 반응을 일으킴으로써 표면 근처에서 캐리어농도를 증가시키고, 캐리어 수송의 형태가 tunneling 형태로 일어날 수 있도록 하는 tunneling current mechanism을 이용하는 것이다. 이로 인해 결국 낮은 접촉 비저항을 얻을 수 있게되며, 일반적으로 p-GaN에서는 Nidl 좋은 물질로 알려져 있다. 그러나 Ni은 50$0^{\circ}C$이상의 열처리에서 쉽게 산화되는 특성 때문에 높은 캐리어를 얻는데 어려운 문제점이 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 MBE로 성장된 p-GaN박막을 Mg의 activation을 더욱 증가시키기 위해 N2 분위기에서 15분간 90$0^{\circ}C$에서 annealing을 하였으며, ohmic 접촉을 위한 금속으로 높은 재가 function과 좋은 adhesion 그리고 낮은 자체저항을 가지고 있는 Ni/Au를 ohmic metal로 하여 contact한 후에 90$0^{\circ}C$에서 10초간 rapid thermal annealing (RTA)처리를 했다. 성장된 박막의 광학적 성질은 PL로써 측정하였으며, photoconductivity 실험을 통해 impurity의 life time을 분석하였고, persistent photoconductivity를 통해 dark current를 측정하였다. 또한 contact resistance를 계산하기 위해 circular-TLM method을 이용하여 I-V 특성을 조사하였다.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.56.1-56.1
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• 2010

A novel electrochemical potentiostatic method has been examined in order to enhance the hole concentration of p-type GaN thin films using KOH and HCl electrolyte. The hole concentration was increased more than 2 times by the electric voltge apply with the mobility of $10{\sim}12cm^2/V.s$. At optimum condition of 3V apply, hole concentration was enhanced more than reference sample from $1.7{\times}10^{-17}cm^{-3}$ to $4.1{\times}10^{-17}cm^{-3}$. Application of this activation method to blue-LED fabrication improved optical output from 18.4mW to 20.6mW, that is ~12% increase. SIMS analysis indicates that nearly 70% of hydrogen atoms could be removed by this method.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2003

Both MgO and $Sc_2O_3$ are shown to provide low interface state densities (in the $10^{11}{\;}eV^{-1}{\;}cm{\;}^{-2}$ range)on n-and p-GaN, making them useful for gate dielectrics for metal-oxide semiconductor(MOS) devices and also as surface passivation layers to mitigate current collapse in GaN/AlGaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs).Clear evidence of inversion has been demonstrated in gate-controlled MOS p-GaN diodes using both types of oxide. Charge pumping measurements on diodes undergoing a high temperature implant activation anneal show a total surface state density of $~3{\;}{\times}{\;}10^{12}{\;}cm^{-2}$. On HEMT structures, both oxides provide effective passivation of surface states and these devices show improved output power. The MgO/GaN structures are also found to be quite radiation-resistant, making them attractive for satellite and terrestrial communication systems requiring a high tolerance to high energy(40MeV) protons.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2001.09a
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• pp.52-59
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• 2001

The photoluminescence and the photo-current from p-type GaN films were investigated on both room- and low-temperatures for various Mg doping concentrations. At a low Mg doping level, there exists a photoluminescence center of the donor and the acceptor pair transition of the 3.28-eV band. This center is correlated with the defects for a shallow donor of the VGa and for an acceptor of MgGa. The acceptor level shows the binding energy of 0.2-0.25 eV, which was observed by the photon energy of the photo-current signal of 3.02-3.31 eV. At a high Mg doping level, there is a photoluminescence center of a deep donor and an acceptor pair transition of the 2.76-eV blue band. This center is attributed to the defect structures of MgGa-VN for the deep donor and MgGa for the acceptor. For low. doped samples, thermal annealing provides an additional photo-current signal for an unoccupied deep acceptor levels of 0.87-1.35 eV above valence band, indicating the p-type activation.