Parametric study on the well-oriented growth of InxAl1-xN nanodots by magnetron sputtering

Publication date: 1 November 2019Source: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Volume 102Author(s): Yang Zhao, Hui Wang, Xinzhong Li, Jingjie Li, Zhifeng Shi, Guoguang Wu, Shiwei Zhuang, Chuanlei Yin, Fan YangAbstractInxAl1-xN alloys are expected to have immense potential in optoelectronic device applications. However, the synthesis of high quality InxAl1-xN alloys still remain a difficulty. Herein, we report the growth of InxAl1-xN alloys on Al2O3 substrate by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The deposition conditions such as nitrogen concentration, substrate temperature and growth time affect the structural and morphological properties of InxAl1-xN alloys, which were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the InxAl1-xN alloys grown at lower nitrogen concentration (20%) and higher substrate temperature (500 °C) exhibited phase separation. It was found that the surface morphology of InxAl1-xN alloys presented a transition from uniform nanodots to disordered nanoclusters with the substrate temperature increased from room temperature to 500 °C. Finally, well-oriented In0·62Al0·38N nanodots were achieved at a nitrogen concentration of 40%, a substrate temperature of 300 °C, and a growth time of 120 min. It was believed that this research will lay a good foundation for the preparation of high-quality InAlN alloys that can be employed in reliable optoelectronic devi...

Source: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing - June 26, 2019 Category: Materials Science Source Type: research