Properties and device performance of BN thin films grown on GaN by pulsed laser deposition
physics.app-ph
/ Authors
Abhijit Biswas, Mingfei Xu, Kai Fu, Jingan Zhou, Rui Xu, Anand B. Puthirath, Jordan A. Hachtel, Chenxi Li, Sathvik Ajay Iyengar, Harikishan Kannan
and 11 more authors
Xiang Zhang, Tia Gray, Robert Vajtai, A. Glen Birdwell, Mahesh R. Neupane, Dmitry A. Ruzmetov, Pankaj B. Shah, Tony Ivanov, Hanyu Zhu, Yuji Zhao, Pulickel M. Ajayan
/ Abstract
Wide and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors lie at the heart of next-generation high-power, high-frequency electronics. Here, we report the growth of ultrawide-bandgap boron nitride (BN) thin films on wide-bandgap gallium nitride (GaN) by pulsed laser deposition. Comprehensive spectroscopic (core level and valence band XPS, FTIR, Raman) and microscopic (AFM and STEM) characterizations confirm the growth of BN thin films on GaN. Optically, we observed that BN/GaN heterostructure is second-harmonic generation active. Moreover, we fabricated the BN/GaN heterostructure-based Schottky diode that demonstrates rectifying characteristics, lower turn-on voltage, and an improved breakdown capability (234 V) as compared to GaN (168 V), owing to the higher breakdown electrical field of BN. Our approach is an early step towards bridging the gap between wide and ultrawide-bandgap materials for potential optoelectronics as well as next-generation high-power electronics.