Effect of the growth temperature and the AlN mole fraction on In incorporation and properties of quaternary III-nitride layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Journal Article · Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2999564· OSTI ID:21185869

Fernandez-Garrido, S; Pereiro, J; Munoz, E; Calleja, E ^[1]; Redondo-Cubero, A ^[1]; Gago, R ^[2]; Bertram, F; Christen, J ^[3]; Luna, E; Trampert, A ^[4]

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1. ISOM and Dpt. de Ingenieria Electronica, ETSI Telecomunicacion, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid (Spain)
2. Centro de Micro-Analisis de Materiales, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid (Spain)
3. Institute of Experimental Physics, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, P.O. Box 4120, 39160 Magdeburg (Germany)
4. Paul-Drude-Institut fuer Festkoerperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin (Germany)

Indium incorporation into wurtzite (0001)-oriented In{sub x}Al{sub y}Ga{sub 1-x-y}N layers grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy was studied as a function of the growth temperature (565-635 deg. C) and the AlN mole fraction (0.01<y<0.27). The layer stoichiometry was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). RBS shows that indium incorporation decreased continuously with increasing growth temperature due to thermally enhanced dissociation of In-N bonds and for increasing AlN mole fractions. High resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements did not show evidence of phase separation. The mosaicity of the quaternary layers was found to be mainly determined by the growth temperature and independent on alloy composition within the range studied. However, depending on the AlN mole fraction, nanometer-sized composition fluctuations were detected by TEM. Photoluminescence spectra showed a single broad emission at room temperature, with energy and bandwidth S- and W-shaped temperature dependences typical of exciton localization by alloy inhomogeneities. Cathodoluminescence measurements demonstrated that the alloy inhomogeneities, responsible of exciton localization, occur on a lateral length scale below 150 nm, which is corroborated by TEM.

• OSTI ID: 21185869
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 104, Issue 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2999564; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM NITRIDES
CATHODOLUMINESCENCE
CRYSTAL GROWTH
DISSOCIATION
EXCITONS
GALLIUM ALLOYS
INDIUM
INDIUM ALLOYS
LAYERS
MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY
NITROGEN ADDITIONS
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE
RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
STOICHIOMETRY
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
X-RAY DIFFRACTION