Aluminium gallium nitride
Encyclopedia
Aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN) is a semiconductor material. It is an alloy of aluminium nitride
and gallium nitride.
AlGaN is used to manufacture light-emitting diode
s operating in blue to ultraviolet
region, where wavelengths down to 250 nm (far UV) were achieved. It is also used in blue semiconductor lasers. It is also used in detectors of ultraviolet radiation, and in AlGaN/GaN HEMT
transistors.
AlGaN is often used together with gallium nitride or aluminium nitride
, forming heterojunction
s.
AlGaN layers can be also grown on sapphire
.
and ammonia
) and industrial hygiene monitoring studies of standard MOVPE sources have been reported recently in a review .
Aluminium nitride
Aluminium nitride is a nitride of aluminium. Its wurtzite phase is a wide band gap semiconductor material, giving it potential application for deep ultraviolet optoelectronics.-History:...
and gallium nitride.
AlGaN is used to manufacture light-emitting diode
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
s operating in blue to ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
region, where wavelengths down to 250 nm (far UV) were achieved. It is also used in blue semiconductor lasers. It is also used in detectors of ultraviolet radiation, and in AlGaN/GaN HEMT
HEMT
High electron mobility transistor , also known as heterostructure FET or modulation-doped FET , is a field effect transistor incorporating a junction between two materials with different band gaps as the channel instead of a doped region, as is generally the case for MOSFET...
transistors.
AlGaN is often used together with gallium nitride or aluminium nitride
Aluminium nitride
Aluminium nitride is a nitride of aluminium. Its wurtzite phase is a wide band gap semiconductor material, giving it potential application for deep ultraviolet optoelectronics.-History:...
, forming heterojunction
Heterojunction
A heterojunction is the interface that occurs between two layers or regions of dissimilar crystalline semiconductors. These semiconducting materials have unequal band gaps as opposed to a homojunction...
s.
AlGaN layers can be also grown on sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
.
Safety and toxicity aspects
The toxicology of AlGaN has not been fully investigated. The AlGaN dust is an irritant to skin, eyes and lungs. The environment, health and safety aspects of aluminium gallium nitride sources (such as trimethylgalliumTrimethylgallium
Trimethylgallium, Ga3, often abbreviated to TMG or TMGa, is the preferred metalorganic source of gallium for metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy of gallium-containing compound semiconductors, such as GaAs, GaN, GaP, GaSb, InGaAs, InGaN, AlGaInP, InGaP and AlInGaNP.-Properties:TMG is a clear,...
and ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
) and industrial hygiene monitoring studies of standard MOVPE sources have been reported recently in a review .