journal article·2023-04-01Open access

Silicon-doped β-Ga2O3 films grown at 1 µm/h by suboxide molecular-beam epitaxy

Kathy Azizie, Felix V. E. Hensling, Cameron A. Gorsak, Yunjo Kim, Naomi A. Pieczulewski, Daniel M. Dryden, M. K. Indika Senevirathna, Selena Coye, Shun-Li Shang, Jacob Steele, Patrick Vogt, Nicholas A. Parker, Yorick A. Birkhölzer, Jonathan P. McCandless, Debdeep Jena, Huili G. Xing, Zi-Kui Liu, Michael D. Williams, Andrew J. Green, Kelson Chabak, David A. Muller, Adam T. Neal, Shin Mou, Michael O. Thompson, Hari P. Nair, Darrell G. Schlom

APL Materials· Volume 11· Issue 4

Abstract

We report the use of suboxide molecular-beam epitaxy (S-MBE) to grow β-Ga2O3 at a growth rate of ∼1 µm/h with control of the silicon doping concentration from 5 × 1016 to 1019 cm−3. In S-MBE, pre-oxidized gallium in the form of a molecular beam that is 99.98% Ga2O, i.e., gallium suboxide, is supplied. Directly supplying Ga2O to the growth surface bypasses the rate-limiting first step of the two-step reaction mechanism involved in the growth of β-Ga2O3 by conventional MBE. As a result, a growth rate of ∼1 µm/h is readily achieved at a relatively low growth temperature (Tsub ≈ 525 °C), resulting in films with high structural perfection and smooth surfaces (rms roughness of <2 nm on ∼1 µm thick films). Silicon-containing oxide sources (SiO and SiO2) producing an SiO suboxide molecular beam are used to dope the β-Ga2O3 layers. Temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements on a 1 µm thick film with a mobile carrier concentration of 2.7 × 1017 cm−3 reveal a room-temperature mobility of 124 cm2 V−1 s−1 that increases to 627 cm2 V−1 s−1 at 76 K; the silicon dopants are found to exhibit an activation energy of 27 meV. We also demonstrate working metal–semiconductor field-effect transistors made from these silicon-doped β-Ga2O3 films grown by S-MBE at growth rates of ∼1 µm/h.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ga2O3 and related materials · ZnO doping and properties · Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques

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

Affiliations

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University 1 , Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate 2 , Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433, USA

Air Force Research Laboratory, Sensors Directorate 3 , Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433, USA

Department of Physics, Clark Atlanta University 4 , Atlanta, Georgia 30314, USA

Department of Material Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University 5 , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University 6 , Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science 7 , Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University 8 , Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung 9 , Max-Born-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany

Funding

Air Force Office of Scientific Research · National Science Foundation · Office of Naval Research · Semiconductor Research Corporation · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency · Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

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