Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 February 2014
We have investigated surface modification methods for avalanche photodiodes using dielectrics deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Arrays of mesa GaN APDs were fabricated, and ALD Al2O3 was used for sidewall passivation prior to completing the APD array. The use of ALD Al2O3 in this manner was observed to result in a large average improvement in APD dark current when compared with devices using more conventional SiO2 passivation layers produced by chemical vapor deposition. Co-processed metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors fabricated with the same passivation layers show significant improvement in electrical interface quality for devices with ALD Al2O3.