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 Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 https://doi.org/10.1088/1402-4896/ac35c1

PAPER

Electron mobility in asymmetric GaN/AlGaN quantum well transistor

RECEIVED
9 August 2021
structure: effect of alloy disorder scattering
REVISED
19 October 2021
ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION
Shwetapadma Panda1, Kshirabdhee T Dora2, Ajit K Panda2 and Trinath Sahu2
2 November 2021 1
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Institute of Technical Education and Research, SOA Deemed to be
PUBLISHED University, Jagamara, Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar-751030, Odisha, India
2
15 November 2021 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Science and Technology, Palur Hills, Berhampur-
761008, Odisha, India
E-mail: tsahu_bu@rediffmail.com

Keywords: AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures, AlGaN/GaN quantum wells, 2D electron gas density, electron mobility

Abstract
We analyze the electron mobility μ of GaN/AlGaN based quantum well (QW) transistor structure.
We consider the potential profile V(z) by including the potential due topolarization (Vp) and Hartree
potential (VH) owing to surface electron density Ns. The low temperature mobility is governed by the
alloy disorder (ad-) and interface roughness (ir-) scatterings. As Ns increases, μ increases. However, for
larger Ns (Ns>0.6×1013 cm−2), there is a deviation showing decreasing trend of μ. We show that
the ad- scattering plays a vital role in governing μ. An increase in Ns causes narrowing of the
polarization induced channel potential through VH and hence facilitates the larger extension of the
subband wave function into the surface barrier. Accordingly, the ad-scattering increases, thereby
reducing μ. we show that with an increase in well width there is a substantial rise in μ in quantum well
(QW) structures while almost no change in μ in double heterostructures (DH). Enhancement of
height of the barriers leads to different results, i.e., for the back barrier, there is a reduction in μ in both
QW and DH structures, while for the surface barrier, there is a rise in μ. The fascinating trends of our
results of μ in different GaN/AlGaN structures elucidate the importance of ad-scattering on low
temperature μ.

1. Introduction

Advances in the manufacture of heterostructures have been instrumental to understand the properties of
various electronic systems in semiconductor systems [1–10]. A lot of attempts have been made to investigate of
the effect of polarization on the electronic and optical properties of III-V nitrides and their alloys [11]. The
nitride materials possess high melting points and a large variation of band gaps from 0.7 eV (InN) to 3.4 eV
(GaN) and then 6.02 eV (AlN) [12]. Initially, of course, attempts were focused on optical devices [13]. However,
subsequently, the nitride compounds also proved to be potential base materials in the development of transistor
devices [14–16]. Gallium nitride transistors are shown to be suitable for high power, high voltage, high
temperature, and low noise based inverter circuit applications [17–19]. The high sheet carrier concentration in
the GaN/AlGaN interface occurs mostly from the surface states assisted by band bending through a built-in
electric field due to polarization [12, 16, 20, 21]. On the other hand, in the case of GaAs/AlGaAs based on high
electron mobility transistors (HEMT), the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) arises through modulation
doping [22].
Most of the AlGaN/GaN samples under investigation are considered as undoped structures. However,
during the growth process, usually, there arise some structural defects, such as unintentional impurities,
interface roughness and dislocations in the system due to the effect of the substrate, and growth parameters.
These scattering centres contribute to overall mobility [23]. Sometimes modulation doped structures have also
been employed to study electron mobility [24]. The confinement of the electronic wave functions in the
quantum well structures affect the scattering potentials in two ways: first, it changes the wave function overlap

© 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd

Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

with the scattering centres and, secondly, it changes the electron screening term in the dielectric function which
also affects the scattering potentials [25–27]. A study of electrical transport measurements in AlGaN/GaN
heterostructures reveals that the low temperature electron mobility is mostly due to the interface roughness (ir-),
alloy disorder (ad-), and in some cases dislocation scatterings [20, 25, 28]. At temperatures below 50 K, the
ionized impurity and line dislocation scattering have been found to limit the mobility of electrons [23]. The
electron mobility is only moderately affected by the dislocation density in the films and independent of the
growth temperature of the AlxGa1−xN layers at x=0.3 [29]. For 2DEG concentration Ns 1×1013 cm−2, the
ionized impurity density less influences the mobility [23, 30]. At room temperature, electron mobility is mainly
limited by electron-phonon interactions. There are two types of electron phonon scattering mechanisms. First,
there is the acoustic phonon scattering, which has two modes, deformation potential scattering, and
piezoelectric potential scattering. Second, there is the optical phonon scattering. At high temperatures,
T>150 K, the optical phonon scattering is dominating, whereas for the lower temperature range,
0<T<150 K, the deformation potential scattering dominates. The piezoelectric scattering has almost no
effect on the phonon limited mobility [23]. The electron scattering by optical phonons is an inelastic process.
Feng et al assumed that the roughness in the interface causes variation of the thickness of GaN well and
AlGaN barrier and concluded that the ir-scattering influences the mobility for thin barriers at low 2DEG
concentrations [31]. It is further reported that the transport properties of 2DEG confined at the AlGaN/GaN
heterointerface also depend on dislocation scattering in addition to ir-scattering and by reducing the
dislocation density the low temperature mobility can be enhanced [32, 33]. The low field mobility of carriers at
an AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure is also investigated for a wide temperature range by Demir et al using an
ensemble Monte Carlo method [34]. Peng et al studied AlGaN/AlN/GaN/AlGaN double heterostructure
(DH) and showed that an increase in the buffer layer Al content leads to better electron confinement even
though the 2DEG sheet density decreases [35]. The AlGaN/AlN/GaN/AlGaN DH is also used to theoretically
investigate the transport properties of electrons by introducing an AlN insertion layer to eliminate the alloy
disorder scattering. The relations of 2DEG mobility and density with alloy compositions of the top and
bottom AlGaN barrier layers and the channel thickness are discussed [36]. The optical-phonons limited μ
decreases in nitride QWs with the increase in temperature and Al mole fraction [37]. The insertion of an
InGaN nanogroove in a wurtzite AlN/GaN QW structure increases mobility at room temperature [38]. Xia
et al proposed that thickness fluctuation of the barrier and well due to the roughness at the interface yields
local fluctuation of the ground subband energy, which reduces the 2DEG μ in an AlGaN/GaN QW structure
[39]. Chai et al showed that the effect of optical phonon scattering on electron mobility can be modulated to
enhance the transport properties of asymmetric AlGaN/GaN QW compared to symmetric ones [40]. Liu et al
discussed μ by thickness fluctuation scattering of the well and barrier of AlxGa1−xN/GaN multi-quantum well
structure with triangle potential wells [41]. Although substantial attempts have been made to investigate μ of
single and double heterostructures, fewer attempts have been made on the study of electron mobility of
GaN/AlxGa1−xN QWs.
In this paper, we investigate the influence of structural asymmetry on μ of GaN/AlGaN polar quantum well
field effect transistor (FET) structure. The polarization induced field Fp produces band bending in the barrier
and well layers of the structure, resulting in a triangular like quantum well potential profile near the interface
with the surface barrier. The field Fp assists electron passage from surface states to the well, resulting in an
extremely high 2DEG channel [12]. To examine μ, we consider V(z) by including the influence of polarization Vp
as well as surface electron density Ns via Hartree potential VH. Ns is related to the Fermi energy EF. The subband
energy level El , wave function yl , and Fermi energy EF influence the low temperature electron mobility μ
through the interface roughness (ir-) and alloy disorder (ad-) scatterings. We show that as Ns increases, μ
increases, but around Ns =0.6×1013 cm−2, there occurs a decreasing trend in μ due to the dominance of ad-
scattering, which almost agrees with the experimental result [17]. We note that band bending due to Vp allows
penetration of the subband wave function ψ0 into the tiltedsurface barrier leading to ad-scattering. The addition
of VH makes the channel well narrower such that the subband energy level E0 raises in energy and hence ψ0
penetrates more into the barrier thereby enhancing the ad-scattering and thus decreasing μ. We further analyze
the effect of ad-scattering on μ in different QW and DH structures by varying the Al mole fraction and width of
the back (xb and Lb) and surface (xs and Ls) barriers and well width (Lw). We show that an increase in xb (xs)
decreases (increases) μ of both QW and DH. Change in Lw gives a different trend, enhancement in μ in QW
while almost no change in μ in DH. On the other hand, by raising Ls, μ reduces in QW but remains the same in
DH. The fascinating changes in the results of mobility in GaN/AlGaN quantum well structures can help in the
improvement of the performance of transistors.

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 1. (a) A typical configuration of wurtzite AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN QW FET Structure, (b): (i) Subband energy level E0(Vp) and wave
function ψ0(Vp) taking V(z) = V0(z)+Vp(z) only (desh line) and (ii) E0(Vp+H) and ψ0(Vp+H) taking V(z) = V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z) (solid
line) to compare the additional effect of Hartree potential on E0 and ψ0 by taking (Lb, Lw,, Ls)=(50 Å, 100 Å, 50 Å) and (xb, xs)=(0.2, 0.2).

2. Theory

We consider an AlxbGa1−xbN/GaN/AlxsGa1−xsN QW FET structure. We take the width and alloy composition
of the surface barrier as Ls and xs and back barrier (lying towards the substrate) as Lb and xb respectively. The GaN
well width is taken as Lw (-Lw/2„z„Lw/2). The electric field Fp due to polarization tilts the potential of
different layers of the structure [42]. A schematic wurtzite AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN QW FET Structure is presented
in figure 1(a). A high concentration of 2DEG, transferred from the surface states, is formed at the wurtzite Ga-
face nitride QW interface [12]. The wave function of electron towards growth z-direction is [26]:
 

y l ( r , z ) = (1 S ) yl (z ) e ik . r (1)

2k 2
Elk = El + (2)
2m
 
where S is the area of the interface and ( r , k ) is position and wave vectors (2D). The eigen state yl (z ) and energy
El can be attained after the selfconsistent solution of the Schrodinger equation and Poisson’s equation. The
Schrodinger equation is [26]:

⎡ -  d + V (z ) ⎤ y l (z ) = El y l (z ).
2 2

2
(3)
⎢
⎣ 2m dz ⎥
⎦
Here V (z ) = V0 (z ) + Vp (z ) + VH (z ). m is the effective mass. V0(z) is the structure potential that takes care of
the barrier heights, Vb and Vs, i.e., conduction band offsets (DEc ) of the GaN well with the AlxGa1−xN back and
surface barriers respectively near the interfaces. Further, DEc = 0.75DEg [43], where
DEc = Eg(Alx Ga1 - x N ) - Eg(GaN ) (4)
and

Eg(Alx Ga1 - x N ) = xEg(AlN ) + Eg(GaN ) (1 - x ) - x (1 - x ) ´ b (5)

Eg and b denote the energy gap and bowing parameter respectively [12]. Further, Vp (z ) = eFp (z ) z, where Fp is
the built in electric field, which can be obtained through the prescription of Bernardini and Fiorentini for the jth
layer as [42]:

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Fpj =
å k Lk P k ek - Pj å k Lk ek
( j , k = 1, 2, 3) (6)
ej å k Lk ek

Fpj is positive along the direction of z axis. Sum k is over all the layers. Lk denotes the thickness, ek is static
dielectric constant and Pk is the total polarization (P) of the kth material layer. Further, P=Psp +Ppe., where Psp
is the spontaneous polarization while Ppe is the piezoelectric polarization. Psp for AlxGa1−xN is calculated by
adopting the interpolation method with the use of GaN and AlN data [12]. The strain-induced piezoelectric
polarization, Ppe, can be expressed as [12]:
a(GaN ) - a(Alx Ga1 - x N ) ⎛ (Alx Ga1 - x N ) (Alx Ga -x N )
(Alx Ga1 - x N ) C13 ⎞
(Alx Ga1 - x N )
P pe =2 ⎜e 31 - e 33 (Alx Ga1 - x N ) ⎟
(7)
a(Alx Ga1 - x N ) ⎝ C33 ⎠
where a(GaN ) / (Alx Ga1 - xN ) is the lattice constant, C13(Alx Ga1 - xN ), and C33
(Al x Ga1 - xN ) (Al x Ga1 - xN )
are elastic constants, e31 and
(Al x Ga1 - xN )
e33 are the piezoelectric coefficients of AlxGa1−xN layer [12]. The Hartree potential VH is obtained
through the Poisson equation [26]:
¶2 4pe 2 +
[VH (z )] = (ND (z ) - n2D (z )) , (8)
¶z 2 es
where es , n2D (z ), and ND+ (z ) are the static dielectric constant, 2DEG concentration and ionized donor density
distribution respectively. n2D (z ) can be written as [26]:
n2D (z ) = å n2D,l ∣yl (z )∣2 , (l = 0, 1, 3....) - ¥ < z < + ¥ (9)
l

where

mkB T ⎡ E - El ⎞ ⎤
n2D, l = ln 1 + exp ⎛ F ⎜ ⎟ (10)
p 2 ⎢⎣ ⎝ KB T ⎠ ⎥⎦

EF is the Fermi energy. The surface electron density Ns, at T=0, can be written in terms of Fermi energy EF [26]:
N
Ns = m / (p2) å (EF - El ) q (EF - El ) (11)
l=1

The potential V(z), subband energy levels El , and wave functions yl (z ) can be obtained by solving the
coupled one-dimensional Schrodinger and Poisson’s equations (equations (3) and (8)). We consider ND+=0
and the 2DEG concentration n2D (z ) in the well through the transfer of electrons from the surface states [12]. We
solve Poisson’s equation (equation (8)) to obtain an analytical expression for the Hartree potential VH(z) by
adopting the variational method [26]. The polarization Pj of different layers is computed from the spontaneous
Pspand piezoelectric Ppe (equation (7)) components. Further, the built in electric field Fpj for the jth layer, which
relates to the polarization Pk (k=1, 2, 3) of all the three layers through equation (6), is used to obtain the
potential due to polarization Vp(z) as a function of z for the structure. Then adopting multistep potential
approximation to V (z ) = V0 (z ) + Vp (z ) + VH (z ) [27, 44] and utilizing transfer matrix formalism, we
numerically calculate the electron transmission probability T through V(z) from which the bound subband
energy levels El and wave functions ψl(z) can be obtained [27]. The procedure is repeated by increasing the
number of steps of the potential until concurrent results are obtained.
In Nitride systems, the low temperature mobility is mostly governed by interface roughness (ir-) and alloy
disorder (ad-) scatterings by assuming
  negligible dislocation [20, 28]. Using Fermi Golden Rule the transition
probability of electron from ∣ lk ñ to ∣ jk ¢ñ can be written as [27]:
2p 
Wlk , jk ¢ = ∣ Vlj (q )∣2 d k ¢, k + q d (E jk ¢ - Elk ) (12)


Using equation (1), Vlj (q ) can be obtained
1
Vlj (q) =
S ò dzy*j (z ) V (z, q) yl (z ) (13)

where

  
V (z , q ) = ò dre-iq rV (r ) (14)

   
Here q = k ¢ - k is the 2D electron transfer. V (z , q ) is two dimensional Fourier transform of the scattering

potential V (r ).

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Using the Boltzmann transport equation, the transport life time τl can be expressed as [26]:
K
å Mlj tj = 1 (15)
j=1

K is the number of occupied subbands. At T=0 K, for lowest subband (l=0), τ0 is [45]:
1
= M00 (16)
t0
where
m p
M00 = ò0 (1 - cos q ) ∣ V 00 (q00)∣2 dq
eff
(17)
p3
q00 = 2KF 0 sin (q 2), KF 0 = (2mEF 0 2)1 2 and EF0=EF-E0. Here Vljeff (qlj ) is scattering potential with
screening. In the case of ir- scattering, one can write [46]:
2

∣ Vljir (q)∣2 = V02 p L2D2e -q å e-lj,1l¢j ¢ (q) yl¢ ⁎(z ) yj ¢ (z )∣z = zI

2 L2 4 (18)
l¢j ¢

For ad- scattering potential [47]:

2

∣ Vljad (q)∣2 = [a3dV 2x (1 - x ) 4] ´ ò dz å e-lj,1l¢j ¢ (q) yl¢ (z ) yj ¢ (z )

l¢j ¢
(19)

e-
lj , l ¢j ¢ is the screened inverse dielectric matrix [26]. The roughness near the interface is taken care of by ir-
1

scattering. The alloy disorder in the barrier causes the ad- scattering. The subband mobility and life time mlad / ir
and t lad / ir are related by mlad / ir = (e /m) t lad / ir . The ad/ir-scattering mobility, mad / ir = å l n2Dl mlad / ir /å l n2Dl .
To calculate mobility, we use Matthiessen’s rule [26].

3. Results and discussion

We study the effect of polarization field Fp on low temperature μ of an asymmetric AlxGa1−xN/GaN quantum
well (QW) structure. We vary the alloy fraction xb and xs of the back and surface barriers and obtain the barrier
potential heights Vb and Vs respectively through equation (4). The effective mass of electron m=0.224me [48].
The widths of the barriers and well (Lb, Ls, and Lw) are also varied to generate different QWs and double
heterostructures (DHs). The built-in electric Fp for different layers of the structures is generated using
equation (6). The alloy scattering potential δV=1800 meV [49]. The ir-scattering parameters are roughness
height Δ =2.59 Å and lateral size Λ =50 Å [39].
The potential V(z), V (z ) = V0 (z ) + Vp (z ) + VH (z ), concerning the schematic structure figure 1(a) is
plotted in figure 1(b). To analyze the effect of Hartree potential on the subband energy level and wave
function, we first take V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z) only and plot the corresponding subband energy level E0(Vp)
and wave function ψ0(Vp). We then take the total potential V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z) and plot
related E0(Vp+H) and ψ0(Vp+H). In both the cases we took (Lb, Lw,, Ls)=(50 Å, 100 Å, 50 Å) and
(xb, xs)=(0.2, 0.2). The potential barrier heights are Vb=Vs=297 meV. The built in electric field in the
back and surface barrier layers is Fpb =Fps=1020.1 kV cm−1. For well layer, Fpw =−1020.1 kV cm−1.
The field Fp tilts the potential of the barriers along the same direction, but inside the GaN layer in opposite
direction, leading to Vp(z) with a triangular like potential well near the interface with the surface. Whereas,
in Vp+H(z) (=Vp(z)+ VH(z)), the addition of VH through 2DEG density makes the potential channel
narrower and raised more towards the substrate. The subband energy level E0 accordingly rises up in energy
leading to more penetration of ψ0 towards the surface barrier than that of Vp(z).
In figure 2, we use the above structure parameters and plot electron mobility μ ad(Vp) and μ ir(Vp) for potential
V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z) and also plot μ ad (Vp+H ) and μ ir(Vp+H ) for V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z) as a function of Ns.
We vary Ns from 1×1012 cm−2 to 1.5×1013 cm−2. The inclusion of VH(z) decreases both μ ad and μ ir. In figure 3,
we plot μ(Vp) and μ(Vp+H) taking potential V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z) and V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z) respectively
of the QW structure described in figure 1(b). Initially, μ shows an increasing trend with Ns. However, the variation
of μ ad and μ ir are being opposite to each other, as Ns increases above Ns=0.6×1013 cm−2, there is a slight increase
in μ(Vp), whereas there is a decreasing trend in μ(Vp+H) due to stronger ad-scattering through VH [50].
In figure 4, we consider V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z) and take structure parameters Lb=Ls=50 Å, alloy
fraction xb=xs=0.2 and vary Lw=50 Å, 100 Å, 200 Å and 250 Å to plot μ versus Ns. There is an enhancement
in μ with an increase in well width. Further, as discussed in figure 3, μ decreases with an increase in Ns after
Ns≅0.6×1013 cm−2 and this downward trend in μ almost matches with the experimental results [17].

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 2. Electron mobility μ ad(Vp) and μ ir(Vp) for potential V(z) = V0(z)+Vp(z) and μ ad(Vp+H ) and μ ir(Vp+H ) for V(z) = V0(z)+
Vp(z)+VH(z) of the QW structure described in figure 1(b).

Figure 3. μ(Vp) and μ(Vp+H) of the QW structure for potential V(z) = V0(z)+Vp(z) and V(z)= V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z) respectively
described in figure 1(b).

In the subsequent figures, we shall consider asymmetric AlxbGa1−xbN/GaN/AlxsGa1−xsN QW and DH

incorporating different layer widths (Lb, Lw, and Ls) and Al mole fractions of barriers, (xb and xs) (figure 1(a)). We
consider V(z)=V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z). The difference in xb and xs leads to different potential heights Vb and
Vs of the back and surface barriers respectively, which are taken care of through V0(z). Change in xb and xs as well
as layer widths Lb, Lw and Ls influences the polarization fields Fp and accordingly governs the band bending
through the polarization potential Vp(z). Lastly, as noted before, the Hartree potential VH(z) determines the
band bending due to Ns. We take into account Ns=1×1013 cm−2 to analyze μ in the subsequent figures.
In figure 5, we plot V(z) for QW and DH taking different well widths, Lw=50 Å, 100 Å, 200 Å, and 250 Å.
We use Ls=50 Å, xs=0.2, and xb=0.1 along with Lb=100 Å for QW structure (figure 5(a)), while
Lb=10000 Å for DH (figure 5(b)). The barrier heights Vb and Vs are respectively 141 meV and 297 meV as
shown in both figures 5(a) and (b). In the case of the QW structure (figure 5(a)), say for Lw=50 Å, Fp for back
barrier, well, and surface barrier are respectively −18.19 kV cm−1, −1002.3 kV cm−1 and 1038.7 kV cm−1.
While, for Lw=250 Å, they are 487.5 kV cm−1, −505.8 kV cm−1 and 1554 kV cm−1 respectively. The
substantial change in Fp with the increase in Lw leads to a sizable change in the potential profile in the back

6
Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 4. μ as a function of Ns for Lw = 50 Å, 100 Å, 200 Å, and 250 Å taking the potential structure V(z) = V0(z)+Vp(z)+VH(z).
The other parameters are same as in figure 1(b).

Figure 5. Potential profile V(z) for the QW (a) and DH (b) taking different well widths Lw=50 Å,100 Å,150 Å, 200 Å, and 250 Å. The
other parameters: (xb, xs)=(0.1, 0.2), Ls=50 Å, Lb=100 Å for QW and Lb=10000 Å for DH.

barrier. In the case of Lw=50 Å, in fact, it is a flat potential due to a small value of Fp. On the other hand, in the
case of DH (figure 5(b)), Lb=10000 Å. The polarization fields Fpj for back barrier, well and surface barrier are
−0.36 kV cm−1, -984.8 kV cm−1 and 1056.8 kV cm−1 for Lw=50 Å. Whereas, for Lw=250 Å, they are
18.8 kV cm−1, −966 kV cm−1 and 1076.3 kV cm−1. We note that, the magnitude of Fpof the back barrier in both
the cases being negligible compared to other layers, we obtain almost flat potentials of back barriers for all the
cases in figure 5(b). On the other hand, there is almost no change in V(z) in the surface barrier due to marginal
change in Fp with the variation of the well width. In general, the band bending is more visible in QW structures

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 6. Electron mobility as a function of well width Lw for the QW and DH plotted in figures 5(a) and (b) respectively.

compared to the DHs basing upon the change in Fp in these structures. Furthermore, as we consider equal Ns, the
band bending due to VH(z) is almost same in all cases. We note that in figures 5(a) and (b), we plot V(z) up to
-150 Å for convenience, even though the potential extend beyond that depending on the structure parameters
and calculations are also made on the basis of the actual structure parameters.
In figure 6, we plot μ for different Lw concerning to figures 5(a) and (b). It is interesting to note that for DH
structure, μ is almost unchanged, while there is a considerable increase in μ for the QW structure with an
increase in Lw. We note that as Lw increases the shape of the potential for DH (figure 5(b)) almost remains same
except increase in height along the surface. Whereas, in QW (figure 5(a)), there is more tilt in the band bending
towards the substrate leading to shift in ψ0 away from the surface barrier, thereby reducing the effect of the
scattering potentials and hence increasing μ. The influence of ad-scattering being dominating, the mobility is
mostly due to μ ad. In case of DH, there is almost constant μ with increase in Lw due to very little change in the
potential near the channel.
In figures 7(a) and (b), we plot V(z) for the QW and DH respectively by varying the height of the back barrier,
Vb=0 meV, 69 meV, 141 meV and 217 meV taking xb=0.0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15 respectively. The other
parameters are Ls=50 Å, xs=0.2, Lw=100 Å, Lb=50 Å for QW and Lb=10000 Å for DH. We note that in
figure 7(b), xb=0.0 corresponds to (Vb=0) a single heterostructure. The surface barrier height Vs remains
unchanged (Vs=297 meV) in all the cases. The difference in the back barrier widths Lb of QW and DH
structures leads to a substantial change in the potential profiles mostly towards the substrate side of the
structures resulting change in the confinement of the electrons.
We plot μ as a function of xb in figure 8. We show that for both QW and DH, μ decreases with an increase in
xb. The change in μ is comparatively more for DH (figure 7(b)). For xb=0, it is a single heterostructure (SH),
where μ is maximum because of less confinement. As xb increases, the potential is raised considerably in the
substrate side pushing ψ0 towards the surface leading to substantial decrease in μ. Whereas, in case of the QW
structure, for xb=0, the electron is more confined than that of the SH, so that μ(SH)>μ(QW) and μ decreases
moderately with increase in xb.
In figures 9(a) and (b), we present V(z) by varying the height of the surface barrier through Al mole fraction
xs=0.2,0.25 and 0.3 (Vs=297 meV, 380 meV, and 468 meV) both for QW and DH. We take xb=0.1
(Vb=141 meV) The other parameters are (Lb=100 Å, Lw=100 Å, Ls=50 Å) for QW and (Lb=10000 Å,
Lw=100 Å, Ls=50 Å) for DH. The changes in the alloy fraction of the surface barrier affect the band bending
of the surface barrier in both QW and DH through polarization and also alter the height of the potential barrier
Vs.
In figure 10, we show that the increase in xs enhances both μ(QW) and μ(DH). Further, μ(DH) increases
linearly and faster than μ(QW), such that for xs =0.2 and 0.25, μ(QW)>μ(DH), while for xs=0.3, μ
(QW)<μ(DH). We note that as xs increases, the surface barrier height Vs raises so that ψ0 becomes more
localized within the well. As a result, the strength of ir-scattering potential improves while ad-scattering
potential diminishes, in spite of more alloy scattering centres in the surface barrier through xs. Nonetheless, the
mobility is governed by the dominant ad-scattering.

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 7. Potential profile V(z) for QW (a) and DH (b) structures taking different alloy composition of the back barrier, xb=0.0, 0.05,
0.1 and 0.15. Other parameters: Lw = 100 Å, xs=0.2, Ls = 50 Å, Lb=50 Å for QW and 10000 Å for DH,.

Figure 8. Electron mobility as a function of Al mole fraction xb of back barrier for QW and DH as in figures 7(a) and (b) respectively.

In figure 11, we plot V(z) by varying the width of the surface barrier Ls=50 Å, 100 Å, 150 Å and 200 Å
keeping Lw=100 Å, xb=0.1 and xs=0.2. For QW (figure 11(a)), we take Lb=100 Å, while for DH
(figure 11(b)), Lb=10000 Å. In case of QW structures, variation of Ls causes a substantial change in Fp of the
layers leading to different band bending. On the other hand, it has negligible effect on Fp of DH, leading to almost
similar variation of V(z). We note that in the figures 11(a) and (b) we keep V(z) up to 100 Å, even though it
extends beyond that for larger Ls
In figure 12, it is interesting to note that μ(DH) almost remains constant with change in Ls and μ(QW) shows
a decreasing trend. For lower surface barrier width Ls=50 Å, μ(QW)>μ(DH), while for larger surface barrier

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 9. Potential profile V(z) for QW (a) and DH (b) for different alloy composition of the surface barrier xs=0.2,0.25 and 0.3,
taking Ls=50 Å, Lw=100 Å, xb=0.1, Lb=100 Å for QW and 10000 Å for DH.

Figure 10. Electron mobility for surface barrier Al mole fraction xs=0.2,0.25 and 0.3 for QW and DH potential structures described
in figures 9(a) and (b) respectively.

width (Ls =100 Å, 150 Å and 200 Å), μ(QW)<μ(DH). The decreasing trend in μ of QW structure can be
attributed to the larger band bending and raise in the potential towards the substrate thereby pushing ψ0 more
into the surface barrier and thus reducing μ with increase in Ls, mostly through the ad-scattering.
We note that the variation of structure parameters alters the potential V(z) leading to change in the subband
energy level E0 and wave function ψ0. The amendment of E0 affects the screened scattering potential through

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

Figure 11. Potential profile V(z) for QW (a) and DH (b) structures for surface barrier width Ls=50 Å, 100 Å,150 Å and 200 Å. The:
alloy composition of different layers are (xb, xs)=(0.1, 0.2), well width Lw=100 Å, back barrier width Lb=100 Å for QW and
Lb=10000 Å for DH.

Figure 12. Electron mobility as a function of surface barrier width Ls for QW and DH structure plotted in figures 11(a) and (b)
respectively.

subband Fermi energy (EF0) and also the dielectric screening matrix (elj, l ¢ j ¢ ) which in turn affects the transport
life time τ0 (equations (16)–(19)). Further, the change in the shape of the potential profile V(z) and shift in E0 also
influence the distribution i,e., extent of ψ0 into the surface barrier, due to the typical band bending of the polar
GaN/AlGaN structure (through equation (6)). We consider Ns=1×1013 cm−2 and find that for this 2DEG
value the ad-scattering is dominant on μ [30, 51].

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Phys. Scr. 96 (2021) 124058 S Panda et al

We shall make a comparison of our results with available experimental data corresponding to low
temperature [28]. We note that in figure 8, we have calculated μ for a single heterostructure (SH) by considering
xb =0.0, Lb=10000 Å, Lw = 100 Å, xs =0.2, Ls=50 Å, Ns=1×1013 cm−2 and obtained μ=3602
cm2(Vs)−1. We now calculate μ by changing the structure parameters, say, xs=0.3, Ls=250 Å and
Ns=1.3×1013 cm−2 and obtain μ=3004 cm2(Vs)−1, which almost matches with the experimental result of
μ=2912 cm2(Vs)−1 for a SH of Ls=250 Å and xs =0.3 for Ns=1.3×1013 cm−2 in the low temperature
regime [28]. We note that the reduction of μ from 3602 cm2(Vs)−1 to 3004 cm2(Vs)−1 is mostly because of
increase in Ns from 1×1013 cm−2 to 1.3×1013 cm−2. In fact, the decreasing trend of μ with Ns at higher values
(Ns>0.6×1013 cm−2) has been discussed in figure 4 and also supported by the experimental results [17].

4. Conclusion

We study the low temperature mobility μ of GaN/AlGaN undoped QW FET structure by considering the
polarization induced built-in electric field (Vp) and Hartree potential due to 2DEG (VH). We consider the alloy
disorder (ad-) and interface roughness (ir-) scatterings and show that the ir-scattering dominates mobility at
lower Ns, while the ad-scattering dominates at higher Ns around 1×1013 cm−2. The effect VH reduces the
channel well width thereby raising the subband energy level E0. As a result, the subband wave function ψ0
penetrates more towards the surface barrier leading to stronger ad-scattering. We consider asymmetric
quantum wells (QWs) and double heterostructures (DHs) by varying the well and barrier widths and barrier
heights to analyze the effect of ad-scattering on μ. Our analysis explores interesting results of the dependence of
μ not only on the structure parameters but also on the type of structures, whether QW and DH. Our results can
be utilized to improve the performance of GaN/AlGaN transistor devices.

Acknowledgments

A K Panda acknowledges the financial support for Research Project Grant EMR/2017/004175 from Science and
Engineering Research Board, DST, Govt. of India.

Data availability statement

All data that support the findings of this study are included within the article (and any supplementary files).

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