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Effect of growth stoichiometry on the structural properties of AlN films on thermally nitrided sapphire $(11\bar 20)$
Author(s) -
Ueno Kohei,
Kishikawa Eiji,
Inoue Shigeru,
Ohta Jitsuo,
Fujioka Hiroshi,
Oshima Masaharu,
Fukuyama Hiroyuki
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201308275
Subject(s) - sapphire , nitriding , materials science , full width at half maximum , bar (unit) , sputtering , stoichiometry , fabrication , optoelectronics , layer (electronics) , deposition (geology) , thin film , optics , composite material , nanotechnology , laser , chemistry , medicine , paleontology , physics , alternative medicine , organic chemistry , pathology , sediment , meteorology , biology
High‐quality AlN epilayers were grown via pulsed sputtering deposition on thermally nitrided sapphire $(11\bar 20)$ with precise control of the N/Al ratio. Under slightly Al‐rich growth conditions, the growth of AlN epilayers on the thermally nitrided sapphire proceeded in a two‐dimensional mode from the initial stage of growth, and their surfaces were atomically flat stepped and terraced structures. The FWHM values of the X‐ray rocking curves were as low as 87 arcsec and 339 arcsec for the 0002 and $1 \bar 102$ diffractions, respectively, at a film thickness of 400 nm. The present approach is therefore quite promising for the low‐cost fabrication of AlGaN‐based UV optical devices. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)