Structural, band and electrical characterization of β-(Al 0.19 Ga 0.81 ) 2 O 3 films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Sn doped β-Ga 2 O 3 substrate

Abstract

We characterized unintentionally doped β-(Al0.19Ga0.81)2O3 for its structural, band, and electrical properties by using a variety of material and electrical characterization methods such as atom probe tomography (APT), transmission electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), capacitance-voltage measurement, and a temperature dependent forward current-voltage measurement. A 115 nm thick β-(Al0.19Ga0.81)2O3 film was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Sn doped Ga2O3 substrates. Reciprocal space mapping shows a lattice matched (Al0.19Ga0.81)2O3 layer. Both APT and TEM results confirm a sharp β-(Al0.19Ga0.81)2O3/β-Ga2O3 interface. XPS measurements show conduction band offsets of 2.78 ± 0.25 eV and 0.79 ± 0.25 eV between the SiO2/β-(Al0.19Ga0.81)2O3 and β-(Al0.19Ga0.81)2O3/β-Ga2O3 interfaces, respectively. Extracted room temperature Schottky Barrier Heights (SBHs) after zero field correction for Pt, Ni, and Ti were 2.98 ± 0.25 eV, 2.81 ± 0.25 eV, and 1.81 ± 0.25 eV, respectively. The variation of SBHs with metals clearly indicates the dependence on work function.