# Wurtzite Phonons and the Mobility of a GaN/AlN 2D Hole Gas

## TL;DR

This paper analyzes phonon spectra in GaN/AlN heterostructures and models their impact on 2D hole gas mobility, proposing strain engineering to improve p-channel device performance in wide-bandgap electronics.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed phonon spectrum analysis and models phonon-hole interactions, introducing strain engineering as a method to enhance 2D hole mobility in GaN/AlN heterostructures.

## Key findings

- Identified key phonon modes affecting hole mobility.
- Quantified temperature dependence of mobility.
- Suggested strain engineering to improve device performance.

## Abstract

To make complementary GaN electronics more than a pipe dream, it is essential to understand the low mobility of 2D hole gases in III-Nitride heterostructures. This work derives both the acoustic and optical phonon spectra present in one of the most prominent p-channel heterostructures (the all-binary GaN/AlN stack) and computes the interactions of these spectra with the 2D hole gas, capturing the temperature dependence of its intrinsic mobility. Finally, the effects of strain on the electronic structure of the confined 2D hole gas are examined and a means is proposed to engineer the strain to improve the 2D hole mobility for enhanced p-channel device performance, with the goal of enabling wide-bandgap CMOS.