Minority-carrier-enhanced reactivation of hydrogen-passivated Mg in GaN

The influence of minority-carrier injection on the reactivation of hydrogen passivated Mg in GaN at 175 °C has been investigated in p-n junction diodes. The dissociation of the neutral MgH complexes is greatly enhanced in the presence of minority carrier and the reactivation process follows second-order kinetics. Conventional annealing under zero-bias conditions does not produce Mg-H dissociation until temperatures ≥450 °C. These results provide an explanation for the e-beam-induced reactivation of Mg acceptors in hydrogenated GaN.