Deposition Mechanism and Properties of Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposited Gallium Nitride Films with Different Substrate Temperatures
Fang-Bin Ren,
Shi-Cong Jiang,
Chia-Hsun Hsu,
Xiao-Ying Zhang,
Peng Gao,
Wan-Yu Wu,
Yi-Jui Chiu,
Shui-Yang Lien,
Wen-Zhang Zhu
Affiliations
Fang-Bin Ren
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Advanced Semiconductor Coating Technology, School of Opto-Electronic and Communication Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Shi-Cong Jiang
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Advanced Semiconductor Coating Technology, School of Opto-Electronic and Communication Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Chia-Hsun Hsu
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Advanced Semiconductor Coating Technology, School of Opto-Electronic and Communication Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Xiao-Ying Zhang
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Advanced Semiconductor Coating Technology, School of Opto-Electronic and Communication Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Peng Gao
Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Wan-Yu Wu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36063, Taiwan
Yi-Jui Chiu
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Shui-Yang Lien
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Advanced Semiconductor Coating Technology, School of Opto-Electronic and Communication Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Wen-Zhang Zhu
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Advanced Semiconductor Coating Technology, School of Opto-Electronic and Communication Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a wide bandgap semiconductor with remarkable chemical and thermal stability, making it a competitive candidate for a variety of optoelectronic applications. In this study, GaN films are grown using a plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) with trimethylgallium (TMG) and NH3 plasma. The effect of substrate temperature on growth mechanism and properties of the PEALD GaN films is systematically studied. The experimental results show that the self-limiting surface chemical reactions occur in the substrate temperature range of 250–350 °C. The substrate temperature strongly affects the crystalline structure, which is nearly amorphous at below 250 °C, with (100) as the major phase at below 400 °C, and (002) dominated at higher temperatures. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra reveals the unintentional oxygen incorporation into the films in the forms of Ga2O3 and Ga-OH. The amount of Ga-O component decreases, whereas the Ga-Ga component rapidly increases at 400 and 450 °C, due to the decomposition of TMG. The substrate temperature of 350 °C with the highest amount of Ga-N bonds is, therefore, considered the optimum substrate temperature. This study is helpful for improving the quality of PEALD GaN films.
