Grafted Low-Leakage Si/AlN p-n Diodes Enabled by Fluorinated AlN Interface
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2026
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| author | Lu, Yi Tsai, Tsung-Han Wang, Qingxiao Cao, Haicheng Zhou, Jie Koo, You Jin Wang, Chenyu Liu, Yang Hao, Yueyue Eller, Michael Bailey, Connor Liu, Stephanie Tanen, Nicholas J. Liu, Zhiyuan Nong, Mingtao Jacobberger, Robert M. Ng, Tien Khee Fountaine, Katherine Gambin, Vincent Ooi, Boon S. Li, Xiaohang Ma, Zhenqiang |
| author_facet | Lu, Yi Tsai, Tsung-Han Wang, Qingxiao Cao, Haicheng Zhou, Jie Koo, You Jin Wang, Chenyu Liu, Yang Hao, Yueyue Eller, Michael Bailey, Connor Liu, Stephanie Tanen, Nicholas J. Liu, Zhiyuan Nong, Mingtao Jacobberger, Robert M. Ng, Tien Khee Fountaine, Katherine Gambin, Vincent Ooi, Boon S. Li, Xiaohang Ma, Zhenqiang |
| contents | Ultrawide-bandgap AlN is a promising material for next-generation power electronics; however, its practical implementation is hindered by unstable surface chemistry and the high activation energy of p-type dopants. In particular, high-temperature rapid thermal annealing (RTA), required for forming low-resistance contacts on n-type AlN, leads to the formation of thick and defective surface oxides that degrade heterojunction performance.
In this work, we present an interface engineering approach based on fluorination-induced AlFx formation combined with SiNx passivation to suppress defect-assisted leakage in p-Si/n-AlN heterojunction diodes fabricated via semiconductor grafting. A low-damage pseudo-atomic layer etching process is employed to remove RTA-induced oxides and restore a near-stoichiometric AlN surface. Subsequent XeF2 treatment forms an ultrathin AlFx layer, which is stabilized by an atomic-layer-deposited SiNx capping layer prior to p-Si nanomembrane integration.
Electrical measurements show that the engineered AlFx/SiNx interface reduces reverse leakage current by several orders of magnitude compared to untreated or oxide-removed AlN surfaces, while preserving forward conduction characteristics. Temperature-dependent analysis indicates strong suppression of Poole-Frenkel emission and a shift of leakage onset to higher reverse bias, ultimately limited by bulk AlN crystal quality. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy confirm the formation of Al-F bonds, reduced Al-O content, and the presence of a thin interfacial SiOx/SiON layer.
These results establish AlFx/SiNx passivation as an effective strategy for stabilizing AlN interfaces and enabling low-leakage ultrawide-bandgap heterojunction devices. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_06359 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Grafted Low-Leakage Si/AlN p-n Diodes Enabled by Fluorinated AlN Interface Lu, Yi Tsai, Tsung-Han Wang, Qingxiao Cao, Haicheng Zhou, Jie Koo, You Jin Wang, Chenyu Liu, Yang Hao, Yueyue Eller, Michael Bailey, Connor Liu, Stephanie Tanen, Nicholas J. Liu, Zhiyuan Nong, Mingtao Jacobberger, Robert M. Ng, Tien Khee Fountaine, Katherine Gambin, Vincent Ooi, Boon S. Li, Xiaohang Ma, Zhenqiang Materials Science Ultrawide-bandgap AlN is a promising material for next-generation power electronics; however, its practical implementation is hindered by unstable surface chemistry and the high activation energy of p-type dopants. In particular, high-temperature rapid thermal annealing (RTA), required for forming low-resistance contacts on n-type AlN, leads to the formation of thick and defective surface oxides that degrade heterojunction performance. In this work, we present an interface engineering approach based on fluorination-induced AlFx formation combined with SiNx passivation to suppress defect-assisted leakage in p-Si/n-AlN heterojunction diodes fabricated via semiconductor grafting. A low-damage pseudo-atomic layer etching process is employed to remove RTA-induced oxides and restore a near-stoichiometric AlN surface. Subsequent XeF2 treatment forms an ultrathin AlFx layer, which is stabilized by an atomic-layer-deposited SiNx capping layer prior to p-Si nanomembrane integration. Electrical measurements show that the engineered AlFx/SiNx interface reduces reverse leakage current by several orders of magnitude compared to untreated or oxide-removed AlN surfaces, while preserving forward conduction characteristics. Temperature-dependent analysis indicates strong suppression of Poole-Frenkel emission and a shift of leakage onset to higher reverse bias, ultimately limited by bulk AlN crystal quality. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy confirm the formation of Al-F bonds, reduced Al-O content, and the presence of a thin interfacial SiOx/SiON layer. These results establish AlFx/SiNx passivation as an effective strategy for stabilizing AlN interfaces and enabling low-leakage ultrawide-bandgap heterojunction devices. |
| title | Grafted Low-Leakage Si/AlN p-n Diodes Enabled by Fluorinated AlN Interface |
| topic | Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06359 |