Observation and mitigation of RF-plasma-induced damage to III-nitrides grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Clinton, Evan A.; Vadiee, Ehsan; Tellekamp, M. Brooks; Doolittle, W. Alan

doi:10.1063/1.5097557

Title: Observation and mitigation of RF-plasma-induced damage to III-nitrides grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Journal Article · Tue Jul 02 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5097557· OSTI ID:1545263

^[1];

^[2]; Doolittle, W. Alan ^[1]

Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

In this work, radio-frequency (RF) plasma-induced damage to III-nitride surfaces and bulk defects is observed and mitigated. It is shown that for InN films, the surface is more sensitive to plasma-induced damage than GaN films, as observed via atomic force microscopy and reflection high energy electron diffraction. In order to isolate any possible plasma-induced damage, a growth window for InN is established, and temperature ranges are determined for other damaging effects which include roughening due to low adatom mobility, InN decomposition, and indium desorption. In situ plasma monitoring and optimization are accomplished with a combination of optical emission spectroscopy as well as a remote Langmuir probe. It is shown that by increasing the plasma nitrogen flow, the positive ion content increases; however, the ion acceleration potential reduces. Additionally, a reduced RF plasma power results in a reduction of atomic nitrogen species. These plasma species and energetic variations result in variations in the bulk unintentional background electron concentrations observed by room temperature Hall effect measurements of ~1 um thick InN films. By increasing the nitrogen flow from 2.5 to 7.5 sccm for a constant RF power of 350 W, the background electron concentration decreases by 74% from 1.36 x 1019 cm-3 to 3.54 x 1018 cm-3, while maintaining a smooth surface morphology. Additionally, photoluminescence spectra indicate optical emission energies shift from ~0.81 to 0.71 eV (closer to the fundamental bandgap of InN) by limiting the damaging plasma species. Finally, conditions are presented to further minimize plasma-induced damage in III-nitride devices.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; DEAR0000470

OSTI ID:: 1545263

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1530634

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5K00-74387

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 126, Issue 1; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 9 works

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Title: Observation and mitigation of RF-plasma-induced damage to III-nitrides grown by molecular beam epitaxy

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