Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is emerging as a viable candidate for certain classes of power electronics, solar blind UV photodetectors, solar cells, and sensors with capabilities beyond existing technologies due to its large bandgap. It is usually reported that there are five different polymorphs of Ga2O3, namely, the monoclinic (β-Ga2O3), rhombohedral (α), defective spinel (γ), cubic (δ), or orthorhombic (e) structures. Of these, the β-polymorph is the stable form under normal conditions and has been the most widely studied and utilized. Since melt growth techniques can be used to grow bulk crystals of β-GaO3, the cost of producing larger area, uniform substrates is potentially lower compared to the vapor growth techniques used to manufacture bulk crystals of GaN and SiC. The performance of technologically important high voltage rectifiers and enhancement-mode Metal-Oxide Field Effect Transistors benefit from the larger critical electric field of β-Ga2O3 relative to either SiC or GaN. However, the absence of clear demonstrations of p-type doping in Ga2O3, which may be a fundamental issue resulting from the band structure, makes it very difficult to simultaneously achieve low turn-on voltages and ultra-high breakdown. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in the growth, processing, and device performance of the most widely studied polymorph, β-Ga2O3. The role of defects and impurities on the transport and optical properties of bulk, epitaxial, and nanostructures material, the difficulty in p-type doping, and the development of processing techniques like etching, contact formation, dielectrics for gate formation, and passivation are discussed. Areas where continued development is needed to fully exploit the properties of Ga2O3 are identified.

A review of Ga2O3 materials, processing, and devices

Several hundred thousands of tons of ZnO are used by per year, e.g. as an additive to concrete or to rubber. In the field of optoelectronics, ZnO holds promises as a material for a blue/UV optoelectronics, alternatively to GaN, as a cheap, transparent, conducting oxide, as a material for electronic circuits, which are transparent in the visible or for semiconductor spintronics. The main problem is presently, however, a high, reproducible and stable p-doping. We review in this contribution partly critically the material growth, fundamental properties of ZnO and of ZnO-based nanostructures, doping as well as present and future applications, with emphasis on the electronic and optical properties including stimulated emission. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

ZnO : From basics towards applications

ZnO is presently experiencing a research boom with more than 2000 ZnO-related publications in 2005. This phenomenon is triggered, for example, by hope to use ZnO as a material for blue/UV optoelectronics as an alternative to GaN, as a cheap, transparent, conducting oxide, as a material for electronic circuits that are transparent in the visible or for semiconductor spintronics. Currently, however, the main problem is to achieve high, reproducible and stable p-doping. Herein, we critically review aspects of the material growth, fundamental properties of ZnO and ZnO-based nanostructures and doping as well as present and future applications with emphasis on the electronic and optical properties including stimulated emission.

ZnO: Material, Physics and Applications

J. Y. Tsao,* S. Chowdhury, M. A. Hollis,* D. Jena, N. M. Johnson, K. A. Jones, R. J. Kaplar,* S. Rajan, C. G. Van de Walle, E. Bellotti, C. L. Chua, R. Collazo, M. E. Coltrin, J. A. Cooper, K. R. Evans, S. Graham, T. A. Grotjohn, E. R. Heller, M. Higashiwaki, M. S. Islam, P. W. Juodawlkis, M. A. Khan, A. D. Koehler, J. H. Leach, U. K. Mishra, R. J. Nemanich, R. C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski, J. B. Shealy, Z. Sitar, M. J. Tadjer, A. F. Witulski, M. Wraback, and J. A. Simmons

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Ultrawide-Bandgap Semiconductors: Research Opportunities and Challenges

β-Ga2O3 bulk crystals were grown by the edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) process and the floating zone process. Semiconductor substrates containing no twin boundaries with sizes up to 4 in. in diameter were fabricated. It was found that Si was the main residual impurity in the EFG-grown crystals and that the effective donor concentration (N d − N a) of unintentionally doped crystals was governed by the Si concentration. Intentional n-type doping was shown to be possible. An etch pit observation revealed that the dislocation density was on the order of 103 cm−3. N d − N a for the samples annealed in nitrogen ambient was almost the same as the Si concentration, while for the samples annealed in oxygen ambient, it was around 1 × 1017 cm−3 and independent of the Si concentration.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.7567/JJAP.55.1202A2/pdf

High-quality β-Ga2O3 single crystals grown by edge-defined film-fed growth

Czochralski growth and characterization of β-Ga2O3 single crystals

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.0021702jss/pdf

Scaling-Up of Bulk β-Ga2O3 Single Crystals by the Czochralski Method

Attempts to grow terbium aluminium garnet (Tb x Al s O 12 , TAG) by the CZOCHRALSKI method lead to crystals of millimeter scale. Larger crystals could not be obtained. DTA measurements within the binary system showed that TAG melts incongruently at 1840°C. The perovskite (TbAlO 3 , TAP) with a congruent melting point of 1930°C is the most stable phase in this system. The region for primary crystallization of TAP covers the chemical composition of TAG and suppresses the primary crystallization of the terbium aluminium garnet.

On the Crystallization of Terbium Aluminium Garnet

Transmission electron microscopes use electrons with wavelengths of a few picometers, potentially capable of imaging individual atoms in solids at a resolution ultimately set by the intrinsic size of an atom. Unfortunately, due to imperfections in the imaging lenses and multiple scattering of electrons in the sample, the image resolution reached is 3 to 10 times worse. Here, by inversely solving the multiple scattering problem and overcoming the aberrations of the electron probe using electron ptychography to recover a linear phase response in thick samples, we demonstrate an instrumental blurring of under 20 picometers. The widths of atomic columns in the measured electrostatic potential are now no longer limited by the imaging system, but instead by the thermal fluctuations of the atoms. We also demonstrate that electron ptychography can potentially reach a sub-nanometer depth resolution and locate embedded atomic dopants in all three dimensions with only a single projection measurement.

/pdf/electron-ptychography-achieves-atomic-resolution-limits-set-522vx3n9mj.pdf

Steffen Ganschow

Papers

Czochralski growth and characterization of β-Ga2O3 single crystals

Scaling-Up of Bulk β-Ga2O3 Single Crystals by the Czochralski Method

On the Crystallization of Terbium Aluminium Garnet

Electron ptychography achieves atomic-resolution limits set by lattice vibrations

Czochralski-grown bulk β-Ga2O3 single crystals doped with mono-, di-, tri-, and tetravalent ions