High-temperature-annealed Al N(HTA-Al N) templates provide ideal substrates for high-quality Al Ga N epitaxy. However, the significant compressive stress accumulated within the Al Ga N layer makes it challenging to ac...High-temperature-annealed Al N(HTA-Al N) templates provide ideal substrates for high-quality Al Ga N epitaxy. However, the significant compressive stress accumulated within the Al Ga N layer makes it challenging to achieve a smooth surface free of hexagonal hillocks on these templates. To address this issue, we investigate the mechanism of compressive stress accumulation during the growth of Al Ga N-based epilayers on HTA-Al N templates using in-situ curvature analysis in this study. To verify the mechanism, a low-Al-content Al Ga N interlayer is introduced between the Al N epilayer and the subsequent Al Ga N epilayer. The larger a-plane lattice constant of this interlayer relative to the Al Ga N epilayer slows the accumulation rate of compressive stress. The hexagonal hillock can be effectively suppressed and the surface of Al Ga N epilayer can be significantly regulated by adopting various low-Al-content Al Ga N interlayers. This work provides a comprehension on the stress accumulation mechanism in Al Ga N epilayers and a feasible method to obtain hillock-free surface of Al Ga N epilayers on HTA-Al N templates,which will be beneficial for fabricating Al Ga N based devices.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFB3605000)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 62004127, 61725403, 62121005, 61922078, 61827813, and 62004196)+1 种基金the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe Youth Talent Promotion Project of the Chinese Institute of Electronics (No. 2020QNRC001)。
文摘High-temperature-annealed Al N(HTA-Al N) templates provide ideal substrates for high-quality Al Ga N epitaxy. However, the significant compressive stress accumulated within the Al Ga N layer makes it challenging to achieve a smooth surface free of hexagonal hillocks on these templates. To address this issue, we investigate the mechanism of compressive stress accumulation during the growth of Al Ga N-based epilayers on HTA-Al N templates using in-situ curvature analysis in this study. To verify the mechanism, a low-Al-content Al Ga N interlayer is introduced between the Al N epilayer and the subsequent Al Ga N epilayer. The larger a-plane lattice constant of this interlayer relative to the Al Ga N epilayer slows the accumulation rate of compressive stress. The hexagonal hillock can be effectively suppressed and the surface of Al Ga N epilayer can be significantly regulated by adopting various low-Al-content Al Ga N interlayers. This work provides a comprehension on the stress accumulation mechanism in Al Ga N epilayers and a feasible method to obtain hillock-free surface of Al Ga N epilayers on HTA-Al N templates,which will be beneficial for fabricating Al Ga N based devices.
