Effect of metal/semiconductor interface on the resistance of a nonalloyed p-GaN/Ni–Au contact
Abstract
The formation of an ohmic p-contact represents a critical step in the processing of GaN-based devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Thermal annealing in an O2-containing atmosphere at high temperature of a GaN/Ni–Au contact is mostly used today, while nonannealed contacts have been reported to provide much lower electrical performances. We experimentally evidence that the quality of the contact before annealing strongly depends on the nature of the Ni/GaN interface. Electrical results are correlated to microstructural and physicochemical analysis using high-resolution transmission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy for this purpose. Using an annealed contact formed in standard conditions as a reference, we evidence from in situ treatment of the interface before metal evaporation that interfacial Ga-Oxide plays a detrimental role. We show that the metal evaporation conditions may strongly impact the physicochemical composition of the interface before annealing. We obtain nonannealed contact with electrical characteristics close to that of an annealed, standard one, using a reduced evaporation rate, in our evaporation conditions. This result is of interest for the processing of p-GaN contacts at a low thermal budget.
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BibTeX
@article{duraz2026effect,
title = {{Effect of metal/semiconductor interface on the resistance of a nonalloyed p-GaN/Ni–Au contact}},
author = {Jules Duraz and Hassen Souissi and Maksym Gromovyi and David Troadec and Téo Baptiste and Géraldine Hallais and Nathaniel Findling and Phuong Vuong and Rajat Gujrati and Thi May Tran and Jean-Paul Salvestrini and Maria Tchernycheva and Suresh Sundaram and Abdallah Ougazzaden and Gilles Patriarche and Sophie Bouchoule},
journal = {Journal of Vacuum Science \& Technology B Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1116/6.0005634},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05751075v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effect of metal/semiconductor interface on the resistance of a nonalloyed p-GaN/Ni–Au contact
AU - Jules Duraz
AU - Hassen Souissi
AU - Maksym Gromovyi
AU - David Troadec
AU - Téo Baptiste
AU - Géraldine Hallais
AU - Nathaniel Findling
AU - Phuong Vuong
AU - Rajat Gujrati
AU - Thi May Tran
AU - Jean-Paul Salvestrini
AU - Maria Tchernycheva
AU - Suresh Sundaram
AU - Abdallah Ougazzaden
AU - Gilles Patriarche
AU - Sophie Bouchoule
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
JO - Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures
DO - 10.1116/6.0005634
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05751075v1
AB - The formation of an ohmic p-contact represents a critical step in the processing of GaN-based devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Thermal annealing in an O2-containing atmosphere at high temperature of a GaN/Ni–Au contact is mostly used today, while nonannealed contacts have been reported to provide much lower electrical performances. We experimentally evidence that the quality of the contact before annealing strongly depends on the nature of the Ni/GaN interface. Electrical results are correlated to microstructural and physicochemical analysis using high-resolution transmission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy for this purpose. Using an annealed contact formed in standard conditions as a reference, we evidence from in situ treatment of the interface before metal evaporation that interfacial Ga-Oxide plays a detrimental role. We show that the metal evaporation conditions may strongly impact the physicochemical composition of the interface before annealing. We obtain nonannealed contact with electrical characteristics close to that of an annealed, standard one, using a reduced evaporation rate, in our evaporation conditions. This result is of interest for the processing of p-GaN contacts at a low thermal budget.
SN - 0734-211X
SN - 1520-8567
ER -