Polarization-induced two-dimensional electron gases in ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructures

Both the formation mechanism and the origin of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructures have been investigated. The 2DEG in the heterostructures was confirmed to originate from polarization-induced charge and was found to be dominant for transport at low temperatures as well as room temperature (RT) by transport measurements. The origin of 2DEG was concluded to be the surface of the ZnMgO layer based on both capacitance-voltage measurements and the dependence of the carrier concentration on the ZnMgO layer thickness. The largest sheet carrier concentration was 1.1×1013 cm−2 and the highest mobility for the heterostructure was obtained for a Mg composition of 0.61 at RT.