Publications

Junction field effect transistors (JFET) were fabricated on a GaN epitaxial structure grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The DC and microwave characteristics, as well as the high temperature performance of the devices were studied. These devices exhibited excellent pinch-off and a breakdown voltage that agreed with theoretical predictions. An extrinsic transconductance (gm) of 48 mS/mm was obtained with a maximum drain current (ID) of 270 mA/mm. The microwave measurement showed an fT of 6 GHz and an fmax of 12 GHz. Both the ID and the gm were found to decrease with increasing temperature, possibly due to lower electron mobility at elevated temperatures. These JFETs exhibited a significant current reduction after a high drain bias was applied, which was attributed to a partially depleted channel caused by trapped electrons in the semi-insulating GaN buffer layer.

Silicon (Si) has a strength to density ratio of 3.0({sigma}{sub y}/{delta}=(6.8GPa/2.3g/cc)), an order-of-magnitude higher than titanium, aluminum, or stainless steel. Silicon also demonstrates favorable thermal, optical, and electrical properties making it ideal for use as a structural foundation for autonomous, mesoscopic systems such as nanosatellites. Using Si substrates, a structure that can simultaneously act as a thermal management system, a radiation shield, an optical material, a package, and a semiconductor substrate can be realized.

Plasma-induced etch damage can degrade the electrical and optical performance of III-V nitride electronic and photonic devices. We have investigated the etch-induced damage of an Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) etch system on the electrical performance of mesa-isolated GaN pn-junction diodes. GaN p-i-n mesa diodes were formed by Cl{sub 2}/BCl{sub 3}/Ar ICP etching under different plasma conditions. The reverse leakage current in the mesa diodes showed a strong relationship to chamber pressure, ion energy, and plasma flux. Plasma induced damage was minimized at moderate flux conditions ({le} 500 W), pressures {ge}2 mTorr, and at ion energies below approximately -275 V.

We are developing a method of constructing compact, three-dimensional photonics systems consisting of optical elements, e.g., lenses and mirrors, photo-detectors, and light sources, e.g., VCSELS or circular-grating lasers. These optical components, both active and passive, are mounted on a lithographically prepared silicon substrate. We refer to the substrate as a micro-optical table (MOT) in analogy with the macroscopic version routinely used in optics laboratories. The MOT is a zero-alignment, microscopic optical-system concept. The position of each optical element relative to other optical elements on the MOT is determined in the layout of the MOT photomask. Each optical element fits into a slot etched in the silicon MOT. The slots are etched using a high-aspect-ratio silicon etching (HARSE) process. Additional positioning features in each slot's cross-section and complementary features on each optical element permit accurate placement of that element's aperture relative to the MOT substrate. In this paper we present the results of the first fabrication and micro-assembly experiments of a silicon-wafer based MOT. Based on these experiments, estimates of position accuracy are reported. We also report on progress in fabrication of lens elements in a hybrid sol-gel material (HSGM). Diffractive optical elements have been patterned in a 13-micron thick HSGM layer on a 150-micron thick soda-lime glass substrate. The measured ms surface roughness was 20 nm. Finally, we describe modeling of MOT systems using non-sequential ray tracing (NSRT).