Single-crystal Aluminum Nitride (AlN) crystals enable the epitaxial growth of ultrawide bandgap Al(Ga)N alloys with drastically lower extended defect densities. Here, we report the plasma-MBE growth conditions for high Al-composition AlGaN alloys on single-crystal AlN substrates. An AlGaN growth guideline map is developed, leading to pseudomorphic AlxGa1–xN epitaxial layers with x ~0.6–1.0 Al contents at a growth rate of ~0.3 μm/h. These epitaxial layers exhibit atomic steps, indicating step flow epitaxial growth, and room-temperature band edge emission from ~4.5 to 5.9 eV. Growth conditions are identified in which the background impurity concentrations of O, C, Si, and H in the MBE layers are found to be very near or below detection limits. An interesting Si segregation and gettering behavior is observed at the epitaxial AlGaN/AlN heterojunction with significant implications for the formation and transport of 2D electron or hole gases. Well-controlled intentional Si doping ranging from ~2 × 1017 to 3 × 1019 atoms/cm3 is obtained, with sharp dopant density transition profiles. In Si-doped Al0.6Ga0.4N epilayers, a room-temperature free electron concentration of ~3 × 1019/cm3, an electron mobility of ~27 cm2/V s, and an n-type resistivity of ~7.5 m Ω cm are obtained. Here, the implications of these findings on electronic and photonic devices on single-crystal AlN substrates are discussed.
@article{osti_1831084,
author = {Lee, Kevin and Page, Ryan and Protasenko, Vladimir and Schowalter, Leo J. and Toita, Masato and Xing, Huili Grace and Jena, Debdeep},
title = {MBE growth and donor doping of coherent ultrawide bandgap AlGaN alloy layers on single-crystal AlN substrates},
annote = {Single-crystal Aluminum Nitride (AlN) crystals enable the epitaxial growth of ultrawide bandgap Al(Ga)N alloys with drastically lower extended defect densities. Here, we report the plasma-MBE growth conditions for high Al-composition AlGaN alloys on single-crystal AlN substrates. An AlGaN growth guideline map is developed, leading to pseudomorphic AlxGa1–xN epitaxial layers with x ~0.6–1.0 Al contents at a growth rate of ~0.3 μm/h. These epitaxial layers exhibit atomic steps, indicating step flow epitaxial growth, and room-temperature band edge emission from ~4.5 to 5.9 eV. Growth conditions are identified in which the background impurity concentrations of O, C, Si, and H in the MBE layers are found to be very near or below detection limits. An interesting Si segregation and gettering behavior is observed at the epitaxial AlGaN/AlN heterojunction with significant implications for the formation and transport of 2D electron or hole gases. Well-controlled intentional Si doping ranging from ~2 × 1017 to 3 × 1019 atoms/cm3 is obtained, with sharp dopant density transition profiles. In Si-doped Al0.6Ga0.4N epilayers, a room-temperature free electron concentration of ~3 × 1019/cm3, an electron mobility of ~27 cm2/V s, and an n-type resistivity of ~7.5 m Ω cm are obtained. Here, the implications of these findings on electronic and photonic devices on single-crystal AlN substrates are discussed.},
doi = {10.1063/5.0037079},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1831084},
journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {ISSN 0003-6951},
number = {9},
volume = {118},
place = {United States},
publisher = {American Institute of Physics (AIP)},
year = {2021},
month = {02}}