Investigation of Silicon Nitride Shadowed Selective Area Growth as an Enabling Technology for GaN Vertical Device Processing

Conventional processing routes for wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC and GaN for power device applications are known to reduce device performance via the generation of high-leakage defects and deactivation of dopants. Here, the characterization of a novel masking method Silicon Nitride Shadowed, Selective Area Growth (SNS-SAG) is presented. The masks’ ability to enable the growth of tall vertical features with smooth sidewalls, arrest and prevent the formation of screw dislocations, and resist in-diffusion of constituent masking materials is demonstrated via Cathodoluminescence (CL), Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (C-AFM), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS).