Lateral Confinement of Electrons in Vicinal N-polar AlGaN/GaN Heterostructure

We studied orientation dependent transport in vicinal N-polar AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. We observed significant anisotropy in the current carrying charge parallel and perpendicular to the miscut direction. A quantitative estimate of the charge anisotropy was made based on gated TLM and Hall measurements. The formation of electro-statically confined one-dimensional channels is hypothesized to explain charge anisotropy. A mathematical model was used to verify that polarization charges distributed on miscut structure can create lateral one-dimensional confinement in vicinal substrates. This polarization-engineered electrostatic confinement observed is promising for new research on low-dimensional physics and devices besides providing a template for manufacturable one-dimensional devices.