High-transparency Ni/Au ohmic contact to p-type GaN

In this study, a very thin Ni/Au bilayer metal film was prepared by electron beam evaporation and thermal alloying to form ohmic contact on p-type GaN film. After thermal alloying, the current–voltage (I–V) characteristic of Ni/Au contact on p-type GaN film exhibited ohmic behavior. The Ni/Au contacts showed a specific contact resistance of 1.7×10−2 Ω cm2 at an alloying temperature of 450 °C. In addition, the light transmittance of the Ni/Au (2 nm/6 nm) bilayer on p-type GaN was measured to be around 85% at 470 nm. These results suggest that a suitable metallization technology for the fabrication of light emitting devices can be achieved.