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Compositional and structural studies of amorphous GaN grown by ion-assisted deposition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2011
Abstract
Amorphous GaN films have been deposited onto various substrates by ion-assisted deposition. The films were deposited at room temperature using nitrogen ion energies in the range 40-900 eV. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and nuclear reaction analysis show that the Ga:N atomic ratio is approximately one for films grown with ion energy near 500 eV; these films have the highest transparency. Films grown with ion energies below 300 eV are Ga rich, and show reduced transparency across the visible. Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy confirm the amorphous nature of the films. Annealing studies on a-GaN establish that the films begin to crystallise at a temperature of about 700 C. To investigate the local bonding environment of the Ga or N atoms, we have measured the extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) of the transparent GaN films. The EXAFS results indicate that the films are dominated by heteropolar tetrahedral bonding, with a low density of homopolar bonds.
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- Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002
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