Effect of bias-enhanced nucleation on the microstructure and thermal boundary resistance of GaN/SiNx/diamond multilayer composites

The low effective thermal boundary resistance (TBReff) at the GaN/diamond interface is very important for the development of high-power, high-frequency and high-temperature GaN-on-diamond devices. The nucleation and growth of diamond are key processes for modulating the TBReff. This work proposed the bias enhanced nucleation technique to adjust the nucleation of GaN/SiNx/diamond multilayer composites in the MPCVD process at different bias voltages (400–700 V), thereby adjusting TBReff. Pulse bias is beneficial to a stable plasma environment and to obtain a complete GaN/diamond interface structure. The transient thermoreflectance characterization indicated that the GaN/SiNx/diamond multilayer composite prepared under 700 V bias nucleation condition had the lowest TBReff (26 ± 10 m2K/GW), whereas the GaN/SiNx/diamond multilayer composite at 600 V bias had the highest TBReff (83 ± 18 m2K/GW). The role of bias enhanced nucleation process in the TBReff was systematically analyzed by electron microscopies (TEM and SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The GaN/SiNx/diamond multilayer composite prepared at 600 V showed a thick mixed transition layer containing multiphase structures and rough interfaces due to efficient subsurface ion implantation, resulting in high TBReff. In contrast, at 700 V, a thinner nucleation zone and smoother interface result in the lowest TBReff. This work demonstrated the potential of adjusting TBReff at the GaN/diamond interface by using bias enhanced nucleation technique to modulate the diamond nucleation and growth processes.