Date of Award

1-1-2015

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

Program

Nanoscale Engineering

Content Description

1 online resource (xi, 183 pages) : color illustrations

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Fatemeh Shahedipour-Sandvik

Committee Members

Alain Diebold, Hassaram Bakhru, Kenneth Jones, Andrew Clark

Keywords

Gallium nitride, Nitrides, Epitaxy, Strains and stresses, Semiconductor films, Semiconductors, Silicon-on-insulator technology

Subject Categories

Materials Science and Engineering | Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Abstract

III-Nitrides have been a heavily researched material system for decades. Their material properties are favorable for a number of applications, most commonly in the optoelectronic and power device industry. Currently a majority of commercialized devices are fabricated on sapphire and SiC substrates but these are expensive and limit the widespread commercialization of the technology. There is substantial ongoing research geared toward the development of GaN on Si substrates because of the significant cost saving that would be realized through the inexpensive, large wafer and maturity of Si fabrication. Significant challenges with the deposition of GaN on Si have, thus far, prevented its wide-spread commercialization specifically the large lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient mismatch. Both of these issues can be overcome by engineering the stress levels in the films. In this thesis work close examination and exploration of the stress formation and evolution in GaN-on-Si is performed. Methods of improving stress levels are developed in addition to providing a deeper understanding of the stress evolution process.

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