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Correlation of Multiplicity and Chemistry in AlxGa1−xN Heterostructure via Atom Probe Tomography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2020

Olivia G. Licata ,
Scott R. Broderick  and
Baishakhi Mazumder
Olivia G. Licata
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Design and Innovation, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY14260, USA
Scott R. Broderick
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Design and Innovation, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY14260, USA
Baishakhi Mazumder*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Design and Innovation, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY14260, USA
*
*Author for correspondence: Baishakhi Mazumder, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In this work, the correlation between composition and relative evaporation field was investigated by tracking the statistics of multi-hit detector events in atom probe tomography (APT). This approach is applied systematically to a GaN-based nitride heterostructure with five AlxGa1−xN layers of varying Al composition. The relative field evaporation and the percentage of multi-hit events were found to increase with higher Al concentration. Furthermore, the comparison of the relative evaporation fields of AlN with respect to the constituent ions is found to be less than GaN with respect to its constituent ions. Despite equivalent compositions between opposing interfaces of the same AlxGa1−xN interlayer, the rate of change in multiplicity exhibits a consistent asymmetric trend with a steeper slope across the AlxGa1−xN/GaN interface compared to the GaN/AlxGa1−xN interface. The AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure serves as a test structure for exploring field evaporation and neighborhood chemistry, which can be applied to any material chemistry and particularly other nitride systems.

Keywords

atom probe tomographyfield evaporationheterostructuremultiplicitysemiconductor
Type
Materials Science Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 95 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2020

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