Band profiles of ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructures confirmed by Kelvin probe force microscopy

Abstract

The band profiles of ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructures were confirmed through surface potential measurements by Kelvin probe force microscopy. A simple model for the band profile was proposed and the various band parameters were evaluated experimentally and theoretically based on the band model. The band profile was calculated and validated with experimental results using the Schrödinger–Poisson equation. The energy level of the ZnMgO surface donor state, which serves as the source of the two-dimensional electron gas in ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructures, was estimated from the band parameters; nearly identical energy levels around 0.8 eV were obtained for Zn1−xMgxO layers with Mg compositions x ranging from 0.12 to 0.42 and the corresponding charge densities were estimated to be 8×1012 cm−2.