Name: analysis of contact interfaces for single gan nanowire devices
Uploaded: 2013-11-15T17:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Analysis of Contact Interfaces for Single GaN Nanowire Devices at JoVE.com

The Authors would like to acknowledge the individuals in the Quantum Electronics and Photonics Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, CO&#160;for their assistance.

The GaN NWs used in these experiments were grown by catalyst-free molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si(111) substrates9. The general procedure for preparing the NW suspension from the substrate with the as-grown NWs is illustrated in Figure 1.
1. Nanowire Suspension Preparation
<ol>
	<li>Cleave a small (&#60;5 mm x&#160;5 mm) piece of the as-grown NWs on the substrate.</li>
	<li>Fill a small capped vial with about 1 ml of isopropanol (IPA).</li>
	<li>Place the cleav...

<ol>
	<li>Lu, W., Lieber, C. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Semiconductor+nanowires.">Semiconductor nanowires.</a> J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 39, R387-R406 (2006).</li><li>Mater Res, A. n. n. u. R. e. v. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> 34, 83-122 (2004).</li><li>Pettersen, S. V., Grande, A. P., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Formation+and+electronic+properties+of+oxygen+annealed+Au/Ni+and+Pt/Ni+contacts+to+p-type.">Formation and electronic properties of oxygen annealed Au/Ni and Pt/Ni contacts to p-type.</a> 22, 186-193 (2007).</li><li>Chen, L. C., Ho, J. K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Effect+of+Heat+Treatment+on+Ni/Au+Ohmic+Contacts+to+p-Type.">The Effect of Heat Treatment on Ni/Au Ohmic Contacts to p-Type.</a> 176, 773-777 (1999).</li><li>Liday, J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Investigation+of+NiOx-based+contacts+on+p-GaN.">Investigation of NiOx-based contacts on p-GaN.</a> J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 19, 855-862 (2008).</li><li>Narayan, J., Wang, H., Oh, T. H., Choi, H. K., Fan, J. C. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Formation+of+epitaxial+Au/Ni/Au+ohmic+contacts+to+p-GaN.">Formation of epitaxial Au/Ni/Au ohmic contacts to p-GaN.</a> Appl. Phys. Lett. 81 (21), 3978-3980 (2002).</li><li>Ho, J. K., Jong, C. S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Low-resistance+ohmic+contacts+to+p-type+GaN+achieved+by+the+oxidation+of+Ni/Au+films.">Low-resistance ohmic contacts to p-type GaN achieved by the oxidation of Ni/Au films.</a> J. Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 (8), 4491-4497 (1999).</li><li>Herrero, A. M., Blanchard, P., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microstructure+evolution+and+development+of+annealed+Ni/Au+contacts+to+GaN+nanowires.">Microstructure evolution and development of annealed Ni/Au contacts to GaN nanowires.</a> Nanotechnology. 23 (36), 5203.1-5203.10 (2012).</li><li>Bertness, K. A., Roshko, A., Sanford, N. A., Barker, J. M., Davydov, A. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Spontaneously+grown+GaN+and+AlGaN+nanowires.">Spontaneously grown GaN and AlGaN nanowires.</a> J. Crystal Growth. 287, 522-527 (2006).</li><li>Herrero, A. M., Bertness, K. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Optimization+of+Dispersion+and+Surface+Pretreatment+for+Single+GaN+Nanowire+Devices.">Optimization of Dispersion and Surface Pretreatment for Single GaN Nanowire Devices.</a> J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B. 30 (6), 2201.1-2201.5 (2012).</li></ol>

The technique presented allows for analysis of the contact/substrate and contact/NW microstructure of single NW devices. The main advantages of this technique are its low cost and simplicity. It allows for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the contact interface on a large scale with the substrate as well as on a submicrometer scale with individual NWs. The use of carbon tape for the film removal and SEM pin stubs for sample mounting make it possible for analysis using characterization techniques that require clean...

Single-NW devices are made by dispersing a NW suspension onto an insulating substrate and forming contact pads on the substrate via conventional photolithography and metal deposition, which results in randomly formed two-terminal devices. A thick SiO2 film on a Si wafer is typically used as an insulating substrate1,2. For metals deposited on a SiO2 surface, a common problem resulting from heat treatment is the occurrence of void formation at the metal/SiO2 interface. In addition to cracking and delamination of the metal film, this void formation can negatively affect device performance from an increase in resistance caused by a reduction of the contact area. Ni/Au contacts oxidized in N2/O2 atmospheres are the predominant contact scheme applied to p-GaN3-7. During heat treatment in a N2/O2, the Ni diffuses to the surface to form NiO and the Au diffuses down to the substrate surface.
In this work, excessive void formation at the contact/NW and contact/SiO2 interfaces was shown to occur during annealing of Ni/Au contacts to NWs on SiO28. The surface morphology of the annealed Ni/Au film, however, does not indicate the existence of voids or the degree to which void formation has occurred. To address this problem, we developed a technique for the removal of Ni/Au contacts and GaN NWs from SiO2/Si substrates in order to analyze the interface of the contact with the substrate and NWs. This technique can be used for the removal of any contact structure that has poor adhesion to the substrate. The Ni/Au films with GaN NWs embedded in them are removed from the SiO2 substrate with carbon tape. The carbon tape is adhered to a standard pin mount for characterization by use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with several other tools. The detailed procedure for the fabrication of single GaN NW devices and analysis of their contact interface morphology are described.

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			<td>REAGENTS and MATERIALS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lift-off resist</td>
			<td>MicroChem</td>
			<td>LOR 5A</td>
			<td>Varies according to application</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photoresist</td>
			<td>Shipley</td>
			<td>1813</td>
			<td>Varies according to application</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Developer</td>
			<td>Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials</td>
			<td>MF CD-26</td>
			<td>Varies according to application</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photoresist stripper</td>
			<td>MicroChem</td>
			<td>Nano Remover PG</td>
			<td>Varies according to application</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ni source</td>
			<td>International Advanced Materials</td>
			<td>99.999% purity</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Au source</td>
			<td>International Advanced Materials</td>
			<td>99.999% purity</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SiO2/Si wafers</td>
			<td>Silicon Valley Microelectronics</td>
			<td>3-inch &#60;100&#62; N/As 0.001-0.005 Ohm-cm, 200 nm thermal oxide</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carbon tape</td>
			<td>SPI Supplies</td>
			<td>5072, 8 mm wide</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Solvents are standard semiconductor or research grade. Vendor is not important for the experimental outcome.</td>
		</tr>
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			<td></td>
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			<td>Reactive ion etch gases and thermal annealing gases are high purity grade. Vendor is not important for the experimental outcome.</td>
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			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>EQUIPMENT</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultrasonic cleaner</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-08849-00</td>
			<td>Low power</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micropipette</td>
			<td>Rainin</td>
			<td>PR-200</td>
			<td>Metered, disposal tips</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reactive ion etcher</td>
			<td>SemiGroup</td>
			<td>RIE 1000 TP</td>
			<td>Other vendors also used with different process parameters</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mask aligner</td>
			<td>Karl Suss</td>
			<td>MJB3</td>
			<td>Other vendors also used with different process parameters</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>UV ozone cleaner</td>
			<td>Jelight</td>
			<td>Model 42</td>
			<td>Other vendors also used with different process parameters</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>E-beam evaporator</td>
			<td>CVC</td>
			<td>SC-6000</td>
			<td>Other vendors also used with different process parameters</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>* Manufacturers and product names are given solely for completeness. These specific citations neither constitute an endorsement of the product by NIST nor imply that similar products from other companies would be less suitable.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

analysis of contact interfaces for single gan nanowire devices

Single GaN nanowire (NW) devices fabricated on SiO2 can exhibit a strong degradation after annealing due to the occurrence of void formation at the contact/SiO2 interface. This void formation can cause cracking and delamination of the metal film, which can increase the resistance or lead to a complete failure of the NW device. In order to address issues associated with void formation, a technique was developed that removes Ni/Au contact metal films from the substrates to allow for the examination and characterization of the contact/substrate and contact/NW interfaces of single GaN NW devices. This procedure determines the degree of adhesion of the contact films to the substrate and NWs and allows for the characterization of the morphology and composition of the contact interface with the substrate and nanowires. This technique is also useful for assessing the amount of residual contamination that remains from the NW suspension and from photolithographic processes on the NW-SiO2 surface prior to metal deposition. The detailed steps of this procedure are presented for the removal of annealed Ni/Au contacts to Mg-doped GaN NWs on a SiO2 substrate.

An example of SEM analysis on annealed Ni/Au films removed from the SiO2 substrate using carbon tape is shown in Figure 4. The surface of a Ni/Au contact prior to removal is shown in Figure 4A. The underside of the same area of that particular Ni/Au film after removal is shown in Figure 4B. Comparison of the surface and underside morphology can help determine if there is a relationship between the two. For example, when the two images are compared, it can be s...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Analysis of Contact Interfaces for Single GaN Nanowire Devices at JoVE.com

Analysis of Contact Interfaces for Single GaN Nanowire Devices

A technique was developed that removes Ni/Au contact metal films from their substrate to allow for the examination and characterization of the contact/substrate and contact/NW interfaces of single GaN nanowire devices.

Single GaN nanowire (NW) devices fabricated on SiO2 can exhibit  a strong degradation after annealing due to the  occurrence of void formation at the ...

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