A crystalline oxide passivation for Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN

In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction are performed to study the formation of a crystalline oxide on the AlGaN surface. The oxidation of the AlGaN surface is prepared by annealing and remote N2 + O2 plasma pretreatments resulting in a stable crystalline oxide. The impact of the oxide on the interface state density is studied by capacitance voltage (C-V) measurements. It is found that a remote plasma exposure at 550 °C shows the smallest frequency dispersion. Crystalline oxide formation may provide a novel passivation method for high quality AlGaN/GaN devices.