Interfacial Reactions of Ti/n-GaN Contacts at Elevated Temperature

Published

July 1, 2003

Author(s)

C J. Lu, Albert Davydov, Daniel Josell, Leonid A. Bendersky

Abstract

Interfacial reactions in Ti/GaN contacts have been studied using conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-filtered TEM (EFTEM) and X-ray diffraction. The thin film contacts were fabricated by evaporating Ti on n-GaN and subsequent rapid thermal annealing in Argon. X-ray result shows that the as-deposited Ti on GaN is an expitaxial hcp phase, whereas a fcc phase was identified from the as-deposited metal layer in cross-sectional TEM specimens. This phenomenon is interpreted as the transformation of hcp-Ti phase to fcc-TiH(sub x) phase by hydrogen incorporation during TEM specimen thinning. At elevated temperature, first gallium and then nitrogen diffused into the metal layer. The reaction front moved into the Ti layer, and after annealing at 700 C many voids were formed along the Ti/GaN interface at the GaN side. A sequence of phases GaN/TiN/Ti₂ GaN/Ti₃Ga/Ti was identified in annealed contacts, and corresponds to the expected diffusion path. The ternary phase Ti ₂GaN was confirmed with electron diffraction and EFTEM. A planar TiN layer, which formed in direct contact to the GaN, presumably governs the electrical properties of the alloyed contact.

Citation

Journal of Applied Physics

Volume

94

Issue

No. 1

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

diffusion path, EFTEM, interfacial phases, TEM, Ti/GaN contact

Citation

Lu, C. , Davydov, A. , Josell, D. and Bendersky, L. (2003), Interfacial Reactions of Ti/n-GaN Contacts at Elevated Temperature, Journal of Applied Physics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=853234 (Accessed October 11, 2025)