III-Nitride wide bandgap semiconductors: a survey of the current status and future trends of the material and device technology

During the past decade, group III-Nitride wide bandgap semiconductors have become the focus of extremely intensive reearch because of their exceptional physical properties and their high potential for use in countless numbers of applications. Nearly all aspects have been investigated, from the fundamental physical understanding of these materials to the development of the fabrication technology and demonstration of commercial devices. The purpose of this paper is to review the physical properties of III-Nitrides, their areas of application, the current status of the material technology (AIN, AlGaN, GaN, GaInN) including synthesis and processing. The state-of-the-art of III-Nitride material quality, as well as the devices which have been demonstrated, including electronic devices, AlxGa1-xN ultraviolet photoconductors, ultraviolet photodiodes, visible light emitting diodes (LEDs) and ultraviolet-blue laser diodes, will also be presented.