Impact of GaN cap on charges in Al2O3/(GaN/)AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructures analyzed by means of capacitance measurements and simulations

Oxide/semiconductor interface trap density (Dit) and net charge of Al2O3/(GaN)/AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron mobility transistor (MOS-HEMT) structures with and without GaN cap were comparatively analyzed using comprehensive capacitance measurements and simulations. Dit distribution was determined in full band gap of the barrier using combination of three complementary capacitance techniques. A remarkably higher Dit (∼5–8 × 1012 eV−1 cm−2) was found at trap energies ranging from EC-0.5 to 1 eV for structure with GaN cap compared to that (Dit ∼ 2–3 × 1012 eV−1 cm−2) where the GaN cap was selectively etched away. Dit distributions were then used for simulation of capacitance-voltage characteristics. A good agreement between experimental and simulated capacitance-voltage characteristics affected by interface traps suggests (i) that very high Dit (>1013 eV−1 cm−2) close to the barrier conduction band edge hampers accumulation of free electron in the barrier layer and (ii) the higher Dit centered about EC-0.6 eV can solely account for the increased C-V hysteresis observed for MOS-HEMT structure with GaN cap. Analysis of the threshold voltage dependence on Al2O3 thickness for both MOS-HEMT structures suggests that (i) positive charge, which compensates the surface polarization, is not necessarily formed during the growth of III-N heterostructure, and (ii) its density is similar to the total surface polarization charge of the GaN/AlGaN barrier, rather than surface polarization of the top GaN layer only. Some constraints for the positive surface compensating charge are discussed.