Multicycle rapid thermal annealing optimization of Mg-implanted GaN: Evolution of surface, optical, and structural properties
Abstract
The first step of a multi-cycle rapid thermal annealing process was systematically studied. The surface, structure, and optical properties of Mg implanted GaN thin films annealed at temperatures ranging from 900 to 1200 °C were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Nomarski microscopy. The GaN thin films are capped with two layers of in-situ metal organic chemical vapor deposition -grown AlN and annealed in 24 bar of N2 overpressure to avoid GaN decomposition. The crystal quality of the GaN improves with increasing annealing temperature as confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy and the full widths at half maximums of the E2 and A1 (LO) Raman modes. The crystal quality of films annealed above 1100 °C exceeds the quality of the as-grown films. At 1200 °C, Mg is optically activated, which is determined by photoluminescence measurements. However, at 1200 °C, the GaN begins to decompose as evidenced by pit formation on the surface of the samples. Therefore, it was determined that the optimal temperature for the first step in a multi-cycle rapid thermal anneal process should be conducted at 1150 °C due to crystal quality and surface morphology considerations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 08, 2014
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.4892618
Entities
People
- Boris N Feigelson
- Charles. R. Eddy Jr.
- Francis J. Kub
- Jennifer K Hite
- Jordan D. Greenlee
- Karl D. Hobart
- Marko J. Tadjer
- Michael A. Mastro
- Travis J. Anderson
Organizations
- American Society for Engineering Education
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Naval Research Laboratory