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【Epitaxy Papers】Effects of implementing dual-step nitrogen ambient for growth and post-deposition annealing of Ga₂O₃ films sputtered on silicon
日期：2024-12-06阅读：190
Researchers from the Universiti Sains Malaysia have published a dissertation titled "Effects of implementing dual-step nitrogen ambient for growth and post-deposition annealing of Ga2O3 films sputtered on silicon" in Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics.
Abstract
An innovative dual-step nitrogen (N2) ambient was introduced for growth and post-deposition annealing of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) films at various temperatures (600, 700, 800, and 900 °C). This study aimed to investigate the crystal structure, morphological formation, and optical and electrical characteristics of the films. The fabricated films were characterized employing a variety of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, including grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and semiconductor parameter analyzer. A mixing phase of cubic (γ-Ga2O3) and monoclinic (β-Ga2O3) phases was observed with respect to temperature. Notably, the γ-Ga2O3 was transformed to β-Ga2O3 phase at 900 °C, resulting in crystallinity enhancement, narrowing of full-width at half-maximum, and reduction of dislocation density. The films exhibited a smooth nanostructured surface with low roughness and homogeneous topography. The direct bandgap energy of the Ga2O3 films was in the range of 4.56–4.71 eV, with the highest value perceived at 800 °C, which contributed to the highest critical electric breakdown field (Ec). The highest Ec obtained by this sample however did not translate into the lowest leakage current density. The findings highlighted the potential application of Ga2O3 films for the next-generation optoelectronic devices. Detailed investigation of the work and obtained results were presented systematically in this work.
DOI：
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-13488-2
