Heterovalent Ternary Nitride Semiconductors and Mixed Ternary-Binary Heterostructures

Project Personnel

Kathleen Kash

Principal Investigator

Case Western Reserve University

Email

Walter Lambrecht

Case Western Reserve University

Email

Hongping Zhao

Ohio State University

Email

Funding Divisions

Division of Materials Research (DMR), Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS)

There is growing interest in the much larger, but much less well-studied, family of ternary nitride semiconductors that include, for example, zinc germanium nitride and zinc tin nitride, formed by replacing the group III binary element with equal proportions of group II and group IV elements. The increased complexity of the ternary nitrides, and the greater number of materials and combinations, is expected to lead to new materials properties and more flexibility in their design. This project will accelerate research on this new family of materials by combining efforts in theoretical calculations and modeling of devices and properties with synthesis and characterization focused on an important subset of these materials. The research will focus on developing growth and doping methods for ZnGeN2 and ZnGeN2-GaN mixed ternary-binary heterostructures by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The focus additionally will take advantage of the theoretically predicted large band offset between the two materials, which have similar band gaps in the near-ultraviolet, in the design and synthesis of the interesting heterostructure and alloy systems that result from this situation. The theoretical and experimental results, combined with the development of a network, based upon the publicly accessible database website for research groups working in this area, will lay the foundation for expanding research efforts on this large family of materials. Dissemination of new and archived results via an interactive website-accessed database available freely to the community will foster a growing network among research groups that will accelerate progress toward understanding and controlling the properties of these materials and developing new applications for them.

Research Highlights

Nitride Semiconductor’s Family Expanded
K. Kash, H. Zhao, W. Lambrecht
MOVCD of Complex Nitride Semiconductors
K. Kash, W. Lambrecht, H. Zhao
Training Graduate Students in the Art of MOCVD
W. Lambrecht, K.Kash, H. Zhao
Native Point Defects and Doping in ZnGeN2
D. Skachkov, A. P. Jaroenjittichai, L. Y. Huang, W. R. L. Lambrecht
Deep Level Defects and Cation Sublattice Disorder in ZnGeN2
M. S. Haseman, M. R. Karim, D. Ramdin, B. A. Noesges, E. Feinberg, B. H. D. Jayatunga, W. R. L. Lambrecht, M. L. Zhu, J. Hwang, K. Kash, H. P. Zhao, L. J. Brillson
Vibrational Modes in the Pmc21 Structure of ZnGeN2
M. Hagemann, C. Bhandari, W. R. L. Lambrecht
Disorder Effects on the Band Structure of ZnGeN2: Role of Exchange Defects
D. Skachkov, P. C. Quayle, K. Kash, W. R. L. Lambrecht
Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of ZnGeN2 Films on Sapphire
M. R. Karim, B. H. D. Jayatunga, Z. X. Feng, K. Kash, H. P. Zhao
Raman Study of the Vibrational Modes in ZnGeN2 (0001)
E. W. Blanton, M. Hagemann, K. L. He, J. Shan, W. R. L. Lambrecht, K. Kash
Candidates for p-type Doping of ZnGeN2
D. Skachkov, W. R. L. Lambrecht
Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition of ZnGeGa2N4
B. H. D. Jayatunga, M. R. Karim, R. A. Lalk, O. Ohanaka, W. R. L. Lambrecht, H. P. Zhao, K. Kash
Band Structure Engineering Based on InGaN/ZnGeN2 Heterostructure Quantum Wells for Visible Light Emitters
M. R. Karim, B. H. D. Jayatunga, K. T. Zhang, M. L. Zhu, J. Hwang, K. Kash, H. P. Zhao
Experimental Determination of the Valence Band Offsets of ZnGeN2 and (ZnGe)0.94Ga0.12N2 with GaN
M. R. Karim, B. A. Noesges, B. H. D. Jayatunga, M. L. Zhu, J. Hwang, W. R. L. Lambrecht, L. J. Brillson, K. Kash, H. P. Zhao
Effects of Cation Stoichiometry on Surface Morphology and Crystallinity of ZnGeN2 Films Grown on GaN by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition
M. R. Karim, B. H. D. Jayatunga, M. L. Zhu, R. A. Lalk, O. Licata, B. Mazumder, J. Hwang, K. Kash, H. P. Zhao
Band Gaps, Band-Offsets, Disorder, Stability Region, and Point Defects in II-IV-N-2 Semiconductors
S. Lyu, D. Skachkov, K. Kash, E. W. Blanton, W. R. L. Lambrecht
Native Interstitial Defects in ZnGeN2
D. Skachkov, W. R. L. Lambrecht