IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, VOL. 41, NO.

1, JANUARY 2020 143

Ultra-Low Contact Resistivity of < 0.1 · mm for

Au-Free TixAly Alloy Contact on Non-Recessed
i-AlGaN/GaN
Meng-Ya Fan, Gai-Ying Yang, Guang-Nan Zhou, Yang Jiang,
Wen-Mao Li, Yu-Long Jiang , and Hong-Yu Yu

Abstract — A robust process for Au-free ohmic contact TABLE I

formation is demonstrated by a direct contact of Tix Aly alloy S AMPLES ’ I NFORMATION
film on non-recessed i-AlGaN/GaN. Using this novel Tix Aly
alloy instead of multilayers as contact metals, an ultra-low
contact resistivity of < 0.1 · mm is achieved for Ti5 Al1 alloy
on i-AlGaN/GaN after 880 ◦ C/60s annealing.
Index Terms — Ohmic contact, Tix Aly alloy, AlGaN/GaN,
Au-free, non-recessed.

I. I NTRODUCTION
A lGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs)
are attractive for applications in radio frequency (RF)
and power switching devices due to their high electron
mobility and the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG)
at the hetero-junction interface [1], [2]. Reduction of the
metal-semiconductor contact resistivity (Rc in ·mm or ρc
in · cm2 ) is essential to lower the parasitic source/drain
(S/D) resistance. The metal stacks such as Ti/Al/Ni/Au,
Ti/Al/Ti/Au, and Ti/Al/Mo/Au are commonly used on
i-AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for the Au-based ohmic contact for-
mation [3]–[5], where the formation of TiN may penetrate the
AlGaN layer establishing a direct contact to the 2DEG [6].
The Au-free ohmic contacts are highly preferred for the
compatibility with Si-CMOS process, although it is difficult
to achieve good ohmic contacts due to the large bandgap of
AlGaN. For Au-free ohmic contact, Ti and Al are preferred
as the contact metals for i-AlGaN/GaN HEMT due to their
Manuscript received October 29, 2019; revised November 8, 2019;
accepted November 8, 2019. Date of publication November 12, 2019;
date of current version December 27, 2019. The work was supported in
part by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant
61874030, in part by the Research of low cost fabrication of GaN power
devices and system integration under Grant JCYJ20160226192639004,
and in part by the Research of key techniques and applications of
GaN-on-Si power device under Grant 2019B010128001. The review of
this letter was arranged by Editor G. H. Jessen. (Corresponding authors:
Yu-Long Jiang; Hongyu Yu.)
M.-Y. Fan and Y.-L. Jiang are with the State Key Laboratory of ASIC and
System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433,
China (e-mail: yljiang@fudan.edu.cn).
G.-Y. Yang, G.-N. Zhou, Y. Jiang, W.-M. Li, and H.-Y. Yu are with
the School of Microelectronics, Southern University of Science and
Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen 518055, China, with the GaN Device
Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong, Southern Uni-
versity of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen 518055, China,
and also with the Key Laboratory of the Third Generation Semiconductor,
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen
518055, China (e-mail: yu.hy@sustc.edu.cn).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this letter are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/LED.2019.2953077
low work function. The multi-layers, such as Ti/Al [7], [8],
Ti/Al/X [9]–[13], Ti/Al/Ti/X [6], [14]–[17] and Ta-based
stacks [18] are often used (X is the cap layer). An Rc of 0.21
·mm (ρc =1.61×10−6 ·cm2 ) has been achieved with
Ti/Al/Ti/TiN by a recessed process [19]. However, due to
the cost of recess process and the sensitivity of Rc to recess
structure, the Au-free non-recessed ohmic contact formation
process is more desirable on i-AlGaN/GaN with an Rc as low
as possible.
In this work, Ti/Al multi-layers are replaced by the novel
Tix Aly alloy film to form a direct contact on i-AlGaN/GaN
so that the role of Ti and Al can be played even at the initial
annealing period. An ultra-low Rc of < 0.1 ·mm is obtained
for Ti5 Al1 alloy, which shows great potential for high quality
Au-free ohmic contact on i-AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.
II. E XPERIMENTAL P ROCEDURE
The AlGaN/GaN hetero-junction consists of a 20 nm
i-Al0.25 Ga0.75 N barrier layer with a 2 nm GaN cap layer,
a 400 nm GaN channel layer, and a 3.9 μm buffer layer. The
2DEG sheet resistance (Rsh ) of the fresh hetero-junction is
∼448 /sq. The circular transmission line model (CTLM)
is employed for Rc measurement. After immersing in the
diluted hydrochloric acid for 1 min to remove the naive
oxide, Tix Aly /TiN stacks and Ti/Al/TiN stacks were deposited
by magnetron sputtering on the patterned substrate. After
lift-off process, the samples were treated by rapid thermal
annealing (RTA) for 60s in forming gas (97% Ar and 3%
H2 ) ambient at 600∼950 ◦ C. A 200 nm Cu cap layer was
deposited on the annealed contacts for the more accurate Rc
extraction. All the samples’ information is listed in Table I.
Measurement of Rc and Rsh was carried out using the CTLM
structure shown in Fig. 1 with a Keithley 4200-SCS analyzer.
At least four samples for each condition were prepared and
measured. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was
employed to correct the dimension error of CTLM pattern. The

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144
Fig. 1. Schematic top view and cross sectional view along line AB in
CTLM structure. The spacing is checked by SEM. [20], [21].
Fig. 2. I-V characteristics of CTLM for the annealed sample (a) #1 and
(b) #2. Linear fitting of the corrected total resistance vs. spacing for
sample (c) #1 annealed at 900 ◦ C and (d) #2 annealed at 800◦ C. R2
is the correlation coefficient of linear fitting.
Fig. 3. (a) The EDX analysis and (b) HAADF TEM images and Ga, Ti,
Al, N content mapping images for sample #1.
high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spec-
troscopy (EDX) were both applied to reveal the film stack
structure and the element depth profile.
III. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION
Figure 2 shows that an Rc of 1.39 ·mm for sample #1
(Ti/TiN) and 0.40 ·mm for sample #2 (Ti/Al/TiN) can be
obtained after annealing at 900 ◦ C and 800◦C, respectively.
The HAADF TEM images and EDX results shown in Fig. 3
clearly reveal Ti diffusion into AlGaN, Al and Ga diffusion
into Ti and strong N diffusion into Ti with a rougher contact
interface for Ti/TiN sample. It has been reported that a high
concentration of N vacancy in i-AlGaN is helpful for ohmic
contact formation. However, the severe loss of Al from AlGaN
will significantly lower the electron density of 2DEG, resulting
in a higher Rc [22]. Fig. 3 indicates that a direct contact
of Ti on AlGaN will result in severe Al out-diffusion from
AlGaN during annealing. Fig. 4 shows that after annealing
Al atoms will diffuse into the interfacial Ti layer and the Al
out-diffusion from AlGaN is strongly suppressed. While the
N extraction by Ti is still observed. So an ohmic contact with
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IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, VOL. 41, NO. 1, JANUARY 2020
Fig. 4. (a) The EDX analysis and (b) HAADF TEM images and Ga, Ti,
Al, N content mapping images for sample #2.
Fig. 5. I-V characteristics of CTLM for the annealed sample (a) #3, (b) #4,
and (c) #5. Linear fitting of the corrected total resistance vs. spacing
for sample (d) #3 annealed at 950◦ C, (e) #4 annealed at 950◦ C, and
(f) #5 annealed at 880 ◦ C. R2 is the correlation coefficient of linear fitting.
an Rc of 0.40 ·mm is obtained with a much flatter contact
interface.
Figure 4 indicates that a mixture of Ti and Al can eventually
form the ohmic contact on i-AlGaN, so a direct deposition of
Tix Aly alloy film is applied for a lower Rc . Fig. 5 (a) - (c)
show the rectifying behavior after RTA at 600 ◦ C- 800◦ C
for sample #3 (Ti1 Al5 ), 600◦C-850◦C for sample #4 (Ti1 Al1 )
and #5 (Ti5 Al1 ), respectively. An Rc of 0.555 ·mm and
0.236 ·mm is respectively obtained after RTA at 950◦ C
for sample #3 and #4, as shown in Fig. 5 (d) and (e).
However, Ti5 Al1 /TiN stacks (sample #5) show an ultra-low Rc
of 0.063 ·mm with an R2 of 0.999143 after RTA at 880◦C as
shown in Fig. 5 (f). Four samples with Ti5 Al1 /TiN stacks were
prepared and measured, the obtained Rc varies between 0.063
·mm and 0.156 ·mm with a median value of 0.101 ·mm.
Figure 6 shows that after RTA, a Ti rich TiAl alloy layer
forms on AlGaN for Ti1 Al5 sample. The EDX results shown
in Fig. 6 (a) confirm the out-diffusion of N into Ti layer.
Besides, the effective suppression of Al out-diffusion and Ti
in-diffusion is also observed. An ohmic contact with an Rc
of ∼0.555 ·mm does form for Ti1 Al5 sample. For sample
#4 and #5 after RTA, Fig. 7 and 8 both confirm the formation
of a Ti rich TiAl alloy layer on AlGaN and the effective
out-diffusion of N into Ti layer. Moreover, as the ratio of
Ti in Tix Aly increases, the stronger in-diffusion of Ti and
out-diffusion of Al are observed for sample #5. However,
different from the single Ti case in Fig. 3, as shown in
Fig. 8 (b) sample #5 with an ultra-low Rc of 0.063 ·mm
FAN et al.: ULTRA-LOW CONTACT RESISTIVITY OF < 0.1 · mm FOR AU-FREE Tix Aly ALLOY CONTACT
Fig. 6. (a) The EDX analysis and (b) HAADF TEM images and Ga, Ti,
Al, N content mapping images for sample #3.
Fig. 7. (a) The EDX analysis and (b) HAADF TEM images and Ga, Ti,
Al, N content mapping images for sample #4.
Fig. 8. (a) The EDX analysis and (b) HAADF TEM images and Ga, Ti,
Al, N content mapping images for sample #5.
has a flatter contact interface, which indicates the suppression
of interfacial element mixing. Fig. 6 - Fig. 8 also confirm that
the extraction of N mainly depends on Ti, as N profile always
closely accompanies with Ti profile.
As shown in Fig. 9, the lowest Rc varies with the ratio of
Ti in Tix Aly . For Ti1 Al5 and Ti1 Al1 sample, RTA at a higher
temperature allows a lower Rc . A higher RTA temperature
is good for N and Al out-diffusion, forming a contact like
Ti5 Al1 sample annealed at a lower temperature. A limited
Al out-diffusion may help to reduce the bandgap of AlGaN,
which can lower the tunneling barrier for a lower Rc . While
for Ti5 Al1 sample a higher annealing temperature will promote
the over out-diffusion of Al, which will significantly reduce
the electron density of 2DEG and increase the Rc [22]. These
indicate a tradeoff among Rc , the ratio of Ti in Tix Aly , and
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145
Fig. 9. The lowest achievable Rc varies with the ratio of Ti in Tix Aly .
At least 4 samples for each condition have been measured.
Fig. 10. Benchmark of lowest Rc on Alx GaN(x∼25%)/GaN for Au-free
ohmic contact. The Rc of 0.063 Ω·mm is obtained with an R2 of 0.999143.
the annealing temperature. In this work Ti5 Al sample demon-
strates the best tradeoff with an ultra-low Rc of < 0.1 ·mm.
Different from the traditional Ti/Al multilayers, the Tix Aly
alloy film directly contacts with the AlGaN/GaN so that the
aggressive out-diffusion of Al from AlGaN can be suppressed
even at the initial annealing period due to the existed Al in Ti,
reserving the high conductivity of 2DEG. Meanwhile, Ti can
still effectively extract N from AlGaN to form an n-AlGaN
layer. So we reveal a new Au-free Tix Aly alloy based ohmic
contact formation mechanism for non-recessed i-AlGaN/GaN:
1) As long as a Ti rich TiAl alloy layer exists in a direct
contact to AlGaN, the effective extraction of N from AlGaN
can occur after annealing, which is beneficial for an n-AlGaN
layer formation; 2) A certain amount of Al atoms in the
as-deposited Ti layer may suppress the over out-diffusion of Al
during the followed RTA process, which helps to maintain the
highly conductive 2DEG; 3) A proper RTA process is required
to make a limited interfacial mutual diffusion during RTA,
which is helpful for a limited Al out-diffusion with a flatter
interface.
IV. C ONCLUSION
A direct contact of Au-free Tix Aly alloy layer on
non-recessed i-AlGaN/GaN is demonstrated to be a robust
ohmic contact. An ultra-low Rc of < 0.1 ·mm as shown
in Fig. 10 is achieved for Ti5 Al1 alloy. A new mechanism is
proposed, in which Ti in Tix Aly can effectively extract N to
form an n-AlGaN layer and Al in Tix Aly can suppress the
over out-diffusion of Al from AlGaN to maintain the highly
conductive 2DEG. A limited mixing of Ti and Al at the contact
interface helps to obtain a lower Rc with a flatter contact
interface.
146
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