The Need

β-Ga₂O₃ has spurred substantial interest in semiconductors and transistors in high-power/high-frequency electronics and ultraviolet optoelectronics. However, challenges exist in the controlled doping of semi-insulating layers of β-Ga₂O₃, limiting the material’s full potential as a new platform for electronics engineering. Needed is a method of manufacturing semi-insulating layers that maximizes the advantages of β-Ga₂O₃ while overcoming the existing difficulties in controlled doping of the material.

The Technology

A novel method to manufacture high-quality, carbon-doped semi-insulating β-Ga₂O₃ layers without introducing additional acceptors. The method uses trimethylgallium (TMGa) as the Ga precursor. It controls doping only by tuning the growth conditions, such as precursor flow rates and temperature, instead of using additional acceptors in the growth chamber. For example, we use the MOCVD growth of a C-containing semi-insulating β-Ga₂O₃ layer on Ga₂O₃ substrates. This method does not exclude other growth techniques such as MBE, hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD).

Commercial Applications

The technology applies to transistors and semiconductors in high-power, high-frequency electronic power devices, and UV optoelectronics. It opens a new route to develop both lateral electronic devices and vertical power devices, which require one or more semi-insulating layers or current blocking layers. For example, β-Ga₂O₃ and β-(Al_xGa_1-x)₂O₃ based MESFETs or β-Ga₂O₃/(Al_xGa_1-x)₂O₃ based MODFET structures using semi-insulating TMGa grown β-Ga₂O₃ buffer layer to compensate the substrate/interface charges. These semi-insulating layers can also be incorporated to develop Current Aperture Vertical Electron Transistors (CAVET).

Benefits/Advantages

• Maintains precision control over β-Ga₂O₃ doping process, creating high-quality semi-insulating layers for semi-conductors and transistors
• Does not require the introduction of any additional acceptors
• Ensures the formation of sharp interfaces between insulating and non-insulating layers

Patents

Provisional patent application filed