A study of subbands in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor structures using low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy

Abstract

Al0.15Ga0.85N/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structures with various delta-doping concentrations and spacer thicknesses grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition are investigated. The Hall mobility is as high as 1333 cm(2)/V s at room temperature and 6330 cm(2)/V s at 77 K. Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) phenomena, which have not been clearly resolved in the literature, are observed by photoluminescence (PL) spectra at low temperature in this study. The PL spectra peaks of the interband transitions from 2DEG subbands to the valence band are in the range from 3.486 to 3.312 eV. The effects of the strain caused by different Al fractions of the top layer, and that of the spacer thickness on the 2DEG phenomena are discussed. Redshifts due to temperature variations for various HEMT structures are observed in 2DEG subbands and in the band-edge emission, which is believed to be evidence of interband transitions from 2DEG subbands to valence bands. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.