Study of Ti/Au, Ti/Al/Au, and Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contacts to n -GaN

• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-002-1989-0
• Publication Date: 2004-03-03T17:35:10Z
• Authors: Z.X. Qin; Z.Z. Chen; Y.Z. Tong; X.M. Ding; X.D. Hu; T.J. Yu; G.Y. Zhang
• Keywords: Ohmic contact; Thermal Stability; Contact resistance

The contacts of Ti/Au, Ti/Al/Au, and Ti/Al/Ni/Au films deposited on n-GaN were studied by current–voltage (I–V) and transmission-line-method measurements. The effect of annealing temperature on specific contact resistivity has been investigated by changing the annealing temperature from 400 to 900 °C. Ti/Al/Au and Ti/Al/Ni/Au films were superior to the bilayer (Ti/Au) in ohmic contact characteristics and thermal stability. The Ti/Al/Ni/Au composite showed the best thermal stability due to the fact that Ni plays a more important role than the alloy of Ti/Al in preventing the interdiffusion of Ti, Al, and Au. The lowest contact resistivity (∼10-7Ω cm2) to n-GaN was obtained for the Ti/Al/Ni/Au sample by short-time/high-temperature annealing. The formation mechanism of ohmic contacts to n-GaN is also discussed.