The semiconductor alloy indium gallium nitride (InxGa1-xN) offers substantial potential in the development of high-efficiency multi-junction photovoltaic devices due to its wide range of direct band gaps, strong absorption and other optoelectronic properties. This work uses a variety of characterization techniques to examine the properties of InxGa1-xN thin films deposited in a range of compositions by a novel plasma-enhanced evaporation deposition system. Due to the high vapour pressure and low dissociation temperature of indium, the indium incorporation and, ultimately, control of the InxGa1-xN composition was found to be influenced to a greater degree by deposition temperature than variations in the In:Ga source rates in the investigated region of deposition condition space. Under specific deposition conditions, crystalline films were grown in an advantageous nano-columnar microstructure with deposition temperature influencing column size and density. The InxGa1-xN films were determined to have very strong absorption coefficients with band gaps indirectly related to indium content. However, the films also suffer from compositional inhomogeneity and In-related defect complexes with strong phonon coupling that dominates the emission mechanism. This, in addition to the presence of metal impurities, harms the alloy’s electronic properties as no significant photoresponse was observed. This research has demonstrated the material properties that make the InxGa1-xN alloy attractive for multi-junction solar cells and the benefits/drawbacks of the plasma-enhanced evaporation deposition system. Future work is needed to overcome significant challenges relating to crystalline quality, compositional homogeneity and the optoelectronic properties of In-rich InxGa1-xN films in order to develop high-performance photovoltaic devices. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-29 21:28:58.898

abstract: Semiconductor manufacturing economics necessitate the development of innovative device measurement techniques for quick assessment of products. Several novel electrical measurement techniques will be proposed for screening silicon device parameters. The studied parameters range from oxide reliability, and carrier lifetime in MOS capacitors to the power MOSFET reverse recovery. It will be shown that positive charge trapping is a dominant process when thick oxides are stressed through the ramped voltage test (RVT). Exploiting the physics behind positive charge generation/trapping at high electric fields, a fast I-V measurement technique is proposed that can be used to effectively distinguish the ultra-thick oxides' intrinsic quality at low electric fields. Next, two novel techniques will be presented for studying the carrier lifetime in MOS Capacitor devices. It will be shown that the deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) can be applied to MOS test structures as a swift mean for screening the generation lifetime. Recombination lifetime will also be addressed by introducing the optically-excited MOS technique as a promising tool. The last part of this work is devoted to the reverse recovery behavior of the body diode of power MOSFETs. The correct interpretation of the LDMOS reverse recovery is challenging and requires special attention. A simple approach will be presented to extract meaningful lifetime values from the reverse recovery of LDMOS body-diodes exploiting their gate voltage and the magnitude of the reverse bias. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Materials Science and Engineering 2015

Trotz der im Vergleich zu Silizium überragenden elektronischen Eigenschaften von Verbindungshalbleitern, ist die Leistung der daraus gefertigten elektrischen Bauelemente aufgrund der vorhandenen, die elektronischen Materialeigenschaften beeinflussenden Defekte nach wie vor begrenzt. Die vorliegende Arbeit trägt dazu bei, das bestehende ökonomische Interesse an einem besseren Verständnis der die Bauelementeleistung limitierenden Defekte zu befriedigen, indem sie die Auswirkungen dieser Defekte auf die elektronischen und optischen Materialeigenschaften von Indiumphosphid (InP) und Siliziumkarbid (SiC) aufzeigt. Zur Klärung der Effekte finden in der Arbeit sich ergänzende elektrische und optische Charakterisierungsmethoden Anwendung, von denen die meisten kontaktlos und zerstörungsfrei arbeiten und sich daher prinzipiell auch für Routineanalysen eignen. Die erzielten Ergebnisse bestätigen und ergänzen Literaturdaten zum Defektinventar in InP und SiC nutzbringend. So wird insbesondere das Potential der elektrischen Charakterisierung mittels MDP und MD-PICTS, welche in der Arbeit erstmals für die Defektcharakterisierung von InP und SiC eingesetzt wurden, nachgewiesen. Die experimentellen Studien werden dabei bedarfsorientiert durch eine theoretische Betrachtung des entsprechenden Signalentstehungsmechanismuses ergänzt.:1 Motivation 2 Theses 3 Compound semiconductors: structure and benefits 4 Growth of compound semiconductors 5 Structural defects in compound semiconductors 6 Defects and their impact on electronic material properties 7 Effect of annealing treatments on the properties of InP 8 Experimental details 9 Experimental results 10 Summary of the thesis 11 Conclusion and impact 12 Prospect of future work 13 Appendix - Theory of signal development 14 List of tables 15 List of figures 16 List of abbreviations and symbols 17 Eidesstattliche Erklärung - Declaration of academic honesty 18 Danksagung - Acknowledgment 19 Veröffetnlichungen - Publications 20 References / Although the electronic properties of compound semiconductors exceed those of Silicon, the performance of respective electronic devices still is limited. This is due to the presence of various growth-induced defects in compound semiconductors. In order to satisfy the economic demand of an improved insight into limiting defects this thesis contributes to a better understanding of material inherent defects in commonly used Indium Phosphide (InP) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) by revealing their effects on electronic and optical material properties. On that account various complementary electrical and optical characterization techniques have been applied to both materials. Most of these techniques are non-contacting and non-destructive. So, in principle they are qualified for routine application. Characterization results that are obtained with these techniques are shown to either confirm published results concerning defects in InP and SiC or beneficially complement them. Thus, in particular the potential of electrical characterization by MDP and MD-PICTS measurements is proofed. Both techniques have been applied for the first time for defect characterization of InP and SiC during these studies. The respective experiments are complemented by a theoretical consideration of the corresponding signal development mechanism in order to develop an explanation approach for occasionally occurring experimental imperfection also arising during silicon characterization from time to time.:1 Motivation 2 Theses 3 Compound semiconductors: structure and benefits 4 Growth of compound semiconductors 5 Structural defects in compound semiconductors 6 Defects and their impact on electronic material properties 7 Effect of annealing treatments on the properties of InP 8 Experimental details 9 Experimental results 10 Summary of the thesis 11 Conclusion and impact 12 Prospect of future work 13 Appendix - Theory of signal development 14 List of tables 15 List of figures 16 List of abbreviations and symbols 17 Eidesstattliche Erklärung - Declaration of academic honesty 18 Danksagung - Acknowledgment 19 Veröffetnlichungen - Publications 20 References