Effects of Ni cladding layers on suppression of Ag agglomeration in Ag-based Ohmic contacts on p-GaN

Abstract

We investigate effects of Ni cladding layers on suppression of Ag agglomeration in Ag contacts on p-GaN using high-resolution x-ray diffraction. In the annealed Ag contact, Ag (100) grains disappear and agglomerate to form a selectively epitaxial growth of Ag (111). An ultrathin Ni contact layer (10 A degrees) below Ag film plays a role to epitaxially grow (111) Ag films on GaN, leading to the suppression of Ag agglomeration. A 20-A degrees-thick Ni overlayer effectively acts as a passivation layer to prevent the surface diffusion of Ag atoms during annealing, leading to high light reflectance and low contact resistivity.