journal article·2023-03-24Open access

Atomic Plane Misorientation Assisted Crystalline Quality Improvement in Epitaxial Growth of AlN on a Nanopatterned Sapphire (0001) Surface for Deep Ultraviolet Photoelectric Devices

Yong Deng, Nan Xie, Wenyu Hu, Zhenyu Ma, Fujun Xu, Longqing Chen, Wenbin Qiu, Lin Zhao, Hong Tao, Bo Wu, Yi Huang, Jian Ma, Xiaoyi Wang, Xuqi Zhang, Yang Qiu, Xudong Cui, Chaoyuan Jin, Marie-Pierre Chauvat, Pierre Ruterana, Thomas Walther

ACS Applied Nano Materials· Volume 6· Issue 6

Abstract

The atomic-layer misorientation during the growth of a 5 μm thick AlN thin film on a patterned (0001) sapphire substrate was investigated by the scan rotation approach using a probe aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope at a nanometer scale. Through the geometrical phase analysis of the resulting twisted atomic structure at different depths below the top surface, it is shown that over 10% of local tensile and compressive strain is balanced in a 1.6° twist of the c -planes within the first micron of AlN growth. As a consequence, the formation of threading dislocations is reduced. The in-plane twist is seen to decrease toward the layer surface down to 0.5°. Finally, growth has adopted the conventional step flow mechanism with a reduced density of emerging dislocations by the thickness of 5 μm. Our finding forecasts the possibility of understanding the relationship between atomic bilayer twist and local strain accommodation at a nanometer scale, which could provide guidance for achieving better crystal quality of AlN thin films on patterned substrates during epitaxy.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials · Ga2O3 and related materials · Metal and Thin Film Mechanics

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

College of Electronic and Information, Southwest Minzu University, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Chengdu 610047, China

Pico center, SUSTech Core Research Facilities, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China

Institute of Integrated Circuits, China Center for Information Industry Development, Beijing 100048, China

State Key Laboratory of Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518056, China

Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China

Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China

Institute of Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310007, China

Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311121, China

International Joint Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China

CIMAP, UMR 6252, CNRS-ENSICAEN-CEA-UCBN, 6 Boulevard Maréchal Juin, 14050 Caen Cedex 04, France

Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield S1 3JD, U.K.

Funding

Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China · Central University Basic Research Fund of China · Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality · Major Scientific Project of Zhejiang Laboratory · National Natural Science Foundation of China · Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province

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