The structure of GaN layers grown on SiC and sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy

A comparative study of the defects at the interfaces and inside the layers was carried out in GaN/AlN epitaxial layers on SiC and sapphire. Whereas surface cleaning of the sapphire substrates is rather standardised now, the SiC substrates cleaning is still to optimise conditions, as the high densities of defects inside the epitaxial layers cannot be explained solely by the 3.54% lattice mismatch. The investigated specimens were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), either assisted by electron cyclotron resonance or an NH₃ gas source system to provide atomic nitrogen. Assuming that MBE is a growth technique more or less close to equilibrium, the observed defects are interpreted and a growth mechanism, for GaN layers on the stepped (0001) SiC and sapphire surfaces, is proposed.     

Structural and optical properties of GaN films grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

GaN films are grown on [0 0 1] GaAs substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy using a three-step process that consists of a substrate nitridation, deposition of a low-temperature buffer layer, and a high-temperature overgrowth. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy indicate that this method promotes prismatic growth of c-oriented α-GaN. Photoluminescence studies show that the emission from cubic β-GaN inclusions dominates the spectrum.     

Growth of M-plane GaN on (100) LiGaO2 by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Growth of M-plane GaN on (100) LiGaO₂ was achieved using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Thermal annealing of the LiGaO₂ wafer was found to lead to a substrate surface suitable for growth. Structural and morphological analysis was performed using x-ray and reflective high energy electron diffraction, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. X-ray diffraction results show very high phase purity and a relaxation state of the GaN film close to 80%. The surface morphology, showing characteristic M-plane streaks, is flat and smooth.     

Growth of GaN and AlN thin films by laser induced molecular beam epitaxy

Hexagonal GaN and AlN thin films were grown by laser induced molecular beam epitaxy using Al or Ga metal as target material and N₂as nitrogen source. The films were deposited on sapphire (0001) and SiC (0001) substrates. Epitaxial growth of GaN has been achieved at 730°C and 10⁻³ mbar N₂ pressure. The AlN films were polycrystalline with predominant (0001) orientation.     

Growth of columnar aluminum nitride layers on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy

Single crystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films are deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using thermally evaporated aluminum and RF-plasma excited nitrogen gas. In this paper we report on films grown on Si(111) at substrate temperatures of 800° with growth rates between 65 and 350 nm h⁻¹. All layers consist of hexagonal and exactly c-axis oriented AlN crystals with column-like structure. For the smoothest layers surface roughness (rms) around 1 nm is obtained. In the XRD-spectra (ω-scan) we have achieved a minimum FWHM of 0.4° (=25′) for the AlN(00.2) reflex. At maximum growth rates (350 nm h⁻¹) for AlN a transition zone of about 200 nm is formed with high defect density compared to the subsequent growth. For lower growth rates (65 nm h⁻¹) no transition zone exists. Application of a substrate nitridation leads to a partial loss of epitaxial relation between AlN layer and Si(111)-substrate.     

Optical properties of GaN epilayers grown on Si (111) and Si (001) substrates

We report the observation of bright photoluminescence (PL) emission from two types of GaN epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Wurtzite phase GaN/Si (111) epilayers are grown by gas source MBE process, whereas cubic phase GaN epilayers are grown on (001) Si covered by thin SiC film in the process of Si annealing in propane prior to the GaN growth. PL emissions are identified based on the results of detailed PL and time-resolved PL investigations. For the wurtzite phase GaN we observe an efficient up in the energy transfer from bound to free excitons. This process is explained by a large difference in the PL decay times for two types (free and bound (donor, acceptor)) of excitonic PL emissions. For cubic phase GaN we confirm recent suggestion that acceptors have smaller thermal ionization energies than those in the wurtzite phase GaN.     

Microstructure and optical properties of cubic AlN/TiN bilayers deposited by laser molecular beam epitaxy

AlN/TiN bilayers were deposited on Si(100) substrates with varying laser pulse energy by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) technique, and their growth mode, crystal structure and optical properties were investigated. The results indicated that atomically flat TiN single films and AlN/TiN bilayers with layer-by-layer growth mode were successfully grown on Si(100) substrates at optimal laser pulse energy. Both TiN and AlN in the grown bilayers exhibited the NaCl-type cubic structure with the same (200) preferred orientation, showing an excellent epitaxial relationship. TiN single film was more reflective in the infrared range and presented a small transparent window centered at wavelength of 404 nm. Reflectance spectrum of AlN film on top of TiN indicated the sharp absorption at about 246 nm, yielding a bandgap energy of 5.04 eV comparable to the theoretical calculation of bulk cubic AlN, but scarcely reported by the experimental data.     

Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of ZnO on in-situ grown GaN/4H-SiC buffer layers

Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was used to grow ZnO(0001) layers on GaN(0001)/4H-SiC buffer layers deposited in the same growth chamber equipped with both N- and O-plasma sources. The GaN buffer layers were grown immediately before initiating the growth of ZnO. Using a substrate temperature of 440°C–445°C and an O₂ flow rate of 2.0–2.5 sccm, we obtained ZnO layers with smooth surfaces having a root-mean-square roughness of 0.3 nm and a peak-to-valley distance of 3 nm shown by AFM. The FWHM for X-ray rocking curves recorded across the ZnO(0002) and ZnO(101ˉ5) reflections were 200 and 950 arcsec, respectively. These values showed that the mosaicity (tilt and twist) of the ZnO film was comparable to corresponding values of the underlying GaN buffer. It was found that a substrate temperature >450°C and a high Zn-flux always resulted in a rough ZnO surface morphology. Reciprocal space maps showed that the in-plane relaxation of the GaN and ZnO layers was 82.3% and 73.0%, respectively and the relaxation occurred abruptly during the growth. Room-temperature Hall-effect measurements showed that the layers were intrinsically n-type with an electron concentration of 10¹⁹ cm^–3 and a Hall mobility of 50 cm²·V^–1·s^–1.     

RF-MBE生长AlGaN/GaN二维电子气材料

用射频等离子体辅助分子束外延技术 (RF -MBE)在C面蓝宝石衬底上外延了高质量的GaN膜以及AlGaN/GaN极化感应二维电子气材料 .所外延的GaN膜室温背景电子浓度为 2× 10 17cm-3 ,相应的电子迁移率为 177cm2 /Vs;GaN (0 0 0 2 )X射线衍射摇摆曲线半高宽 (FWHM)为 6arcmin .;AlGaN/GaN极化感应二维电子气材料的室温电子迁移率为 730cm2 /Vs ,相应的电子气面密度为 7.6× 10 12 cm-2 ;用此二维电子气材料制作的异质结场效应晶体管 (HFET)室温跨导达 5 0mS/mm (栅长 1微米 ) ,截止频率达 13 .2 5GHz(栅长 0 .5微米 ) ,可在 30 0℃下工作     

Structural characterization of molecular beam epitaxy grown ZnSe-based layers on GaAs substrates for blue–green laser diodes

ZnSe films and fully developed p-on-n laser structures, including CdZnSe-active and ZnSSe-guiding layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on lattice matched p-GaAs, p-AlGaAs and p-GaInP buffer layers. The structural characteristics of these layers were studied by combined cross-section and planar view transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The defect density of the ZnS_xSe_1−x epilayers was shown to be very low, <10⁵ cm⁻². However, on their interfaces with the GaAs substrate, a high density of small dislocation loops and clusters of the order of 3×10¹⁰ cm⁻² was observed. In situ TEM experiments revealed that dislocations and stacking faults (SFs) were generated under the electron beam influence. From them, the perfect dislocations were confined at the ZnSe/GaAs interface, while the SFs propagated to the ZnSe overgrowth or the GaAs substrate, having one of their partial dislocations at the interface. The generation of dislocations under the electron beam was not related to radiation damage but to thermal strain, which was developed by the heating effect due to differential thermal dilatation. Defects around the active zone of fully developed p-on-n laser structures were also studied. The nature of such defects was defined by Burgers vector determination experiments. The critical role of growth variations, such as compositional changes resulting in strain, in the MBE process of II–VI materials was demonstrated. The destructive role of the defected guiding layers in the laser structure was shown.     

2D/3D growth of GaN by molecular beam epitaxy: towards GaN quantum dots

The first stages of the growth of strained GaN on AlN were studied using reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and high resolution electron microscopy. It was shown that GaN grows in the Stranski–Krastanov mode, with three-dimensional islanding occuring after deposition of two monolayers. This 2D/3D transition was found to depend on the growth temperature. At low growth temperature, coalescence of 3D islands rapidly leads to a smooth surface. At high temperature, no smoothing process is observed. It is shown that the size of the 3D islands is controlable and that it is small enough to expect quantum effects.     

Molecular beam epitaxy of InGaN thin films on Si(111): Effect of substrate nitridation

The effect of silicon nitridation on structural quality, indium incorporation, and electrical properties of the InGaN/Si heterojunctions is investigated. A series of In_xGa_1 − xN (x = 0-0.32) thin films are grown directly on Si(111) substrates, with and without a Si_xN_y surface layer, by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The crystalline quality is higher and the indium incorporation is increased when the In_xGa_1 − xN thin films are grown with the intentional Si_xN_y buffer. These observations are explained by the reduced local elastic stress at the interface and N-polarity of the surface, both of which promote the incorporation of In. The obtained n-In_xGa_1 − xN/p-Si (x = 0.2-0.3) heterojunctions exhibit a nearly ohmic behavior, and the series resistance is higher for the Si_xN_y-containing junctions. Our results suggest that unlike the amorphous Si_xN_y region spontaneously formed during direct deposition of III-nitrides on Si, the Si_xN_y layer obtained by high-temperature annealing of Si(111) in nitrogen atmosphere is beneficial to the In_xGa_1 − xN deposition.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Mn:TiO2 films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Single-phase Ti_1−xMn_xO₂ films with x = 0–8% were synthesized by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE), and the effect of Mn content on the magnetic behaviors has been systemically investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies indicate no Mn metal clusters or secondary magnetic phases in any samples in this study. It is found that the undoped or slightly doped samples show no ferromagnetic signal, while samples with x in the range of 3–5% exhibit an exponential increase of saturation magnetization (Ms) as a function of Mn concentration. When x increases beyond 5%, an inverse correlation between the magnetization and Mn content was observed. Our results also strongly support the oxygen vacancy (F-center) mediated mechanism for RT ferromagnetism in transition-metal doped high-k oxides.     

Crystal shape of GaAs nanocrystals deposited on Si(100) by molecular beam epitaxy

The shape changes in GaAs nanocrystals deposited on Si substrate have been studied as a function of the coverage by transmission electron microscopic observations in order to see the growth mechanism from the viewpoint of the surface energy and the lattice strain energy between the nanocrystal and the substrate. When GaAs was deposited on the Si(100) surface, the shape of the GaAs nanocrystals changes from stepped mound, hut cluster to dome structure with increasing the coverage. The shape changes are responsible for decreasing the total free energy caused by the lattice strain energy with the substrate and surface energy depending on the crystal size.     

Epitaxial growth of ZnO layers on (111) GaAs substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy

ZnO layers were grown on (111) GaAs substrates by laser molecular epitaxy at substrate temperatures between 200 and 550 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that c-axis of ZnO epilayer with a wurtzite structure is perpendicular to the substrate surface. X-ray rocking curves and Raman spectroscopy showed that the crystal quality of ZnO epilayers depends on the substrate temperature during the growth. Strong near-band-edge emission in the UV region without any deep-level emissions was observed from the ZnO epilayers at room temperature. The results indicate that laser molecular beam epitaxy is a promising growth method for obtaining high-quality ZnO layers on (111) GaAs substrates.     

Electrical and optical characteristics of molecular beam epitaxial Be-doped In0.53Ga0.26Al0.21As layers grown lattice-matched on InP (100) substrates

This paper reports the effects of beryllium (Be) doping in In_0.53Ga_0.26Al_0.2As layers grown lattice-matched to InP (100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Hall effect measurements showed that hole concentrations as high as 2.94×10¹⁹ cm⁻³ was achieved, and the concentration decreased with further increase in the Be cell temperature. Depending on the hole concentration, good optical quality was achieved as verified by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed lattice mismatch values of lower than 8.6×10⁻⁴ in most samples. An intense PL peak (5 K) at 1.089 eV which is attributed to band-acceptor recombination was observed from the sample with the lowest hole concentration of 2.28×10¹⁶ cm⁻³. This sample exhibited the lowest PL full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of 8 meV (at 5 K) for the free exciton recombination. To the best of our knowledge, this is the lowest value reported to date. An increase in the hole concentration caused a merging of the band-acceptor and free excitor recombination lines to form a broad PL spectrum. A shift in the free exciton peak position in the PL spectrum was observed following an increase in the hole concentration, an effect which was probably due to degeneracy.     

Growth and characterization of group-III impurity-doped semiconducting BaSi2 films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Ga- or In-doped BaSi₂ films were grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The Ga-doped BaSi₂ showed n-type conductivity. The electron concentration and resistivity of the Ga-doped BaSi₂ depended on the Ga temperature; however, the electron concentration and resistivity could not be controlled properly. In contrast, the In-doped BaSi₂ showed p-type conductivity and its hole concentration was controlled in the range between 10¹⁶ and 10¹⁷ cm^− 3 at RT.     

Abnormal optical behaviour of InAsSb quantum dots grown on GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy

InAs(Sb) quantum dots (QDs) samples were grown on GaAs (001) substrate by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). The structural characterization by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) of samples shows that InAsSb islands size increases strongly with antimony incorporation in InAs/GaAs QDs and decreases with reducing the growth temperature from 520 °C to 490 °C. Abnormal optical behaviour was observed in room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) spectra of samples grown at high temperature (520 °C). Temperature dependent PL study was investigated and reveals an anomalous evolution of emission peak energy (EPE) of InAsSb islands, well-known as “S-inverted curve” and attributed to the release of confined carriers from the InAsSb QDs ground states to the InAsSb wetting layer (WL) states. With only decreasing the growth temperature, the S-inverted shape was suppressed indicating a fulfilled 3D-confinement of carriers in the InAsSb/GaAs QD sample.     

Abnormal photoluminescence properties of GaN nanorods grown on Si(111) by molecular-beam epitaxy

We have studied the photoluminescence properties of GaN nanorods grown on Si(111) substrates by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy. The hexagonal shaped nanorods with lateral average diameters from 30 to 150?nm are obtained by controlling the Ga flux with a fixed amount of nitrogen. As the diameters decrease, the main emission lines assigned as donor bound excitons are blueshifted, causing a spectral overlap of this emission line with that of the free exciton at 10?K due to the quantum size effect in the GaN nanorods. The temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra show an abnormal behaviour with an 'S-like' shape for higher diameter nanorods. The activation energy of the free exciton for GaN?nanorods with different diameters was also evaluated.