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Indium-Rich InGaN Films Grown on Ge Substrate by Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy for Solar Water Splitting

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Abstract

Indium-rich InGaN films were grown on Ge(111) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The influence of the indium flux on the structural properties, surface morphology, and photocurrent for water splitting has been investigated. Before the InGaN growth, 20 nm of GaN was deposited as a buffer layer. A streaky reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern was observed for the GaN buffer growth. At the onset of InGaN growth, the streaks became spotty, indicating roughening of the surface and three-dimensional (3D) growth due to the lattice mismatch between GaN and InN. The indium composition in the InGaN structure was roughly fit to be around 50% from x-ray diffraction (XRD) ω–2θ measurements. Growth with excess indium supply led to segregation of metal indium on the surface. During cooling down, this metal indium transformed partially into InN. The crystal quality of the InGaN film decreased with increase of the indium flux. The photocurrent of the InGaN films used as photoelectrodes for water splitting also decreased with increase of the indium flux.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge project support from IMEC and funding support from the Interreg. The authors also acknowledge Mr. Wei-Jhih Tseng and Mr. Bruno Baert for assistance with SEM and water splitting tests, and Mr. Willem van de Graaf and Dr. Maarten Leys for support during the experiments. Q.-B. Ma, acknowledges support as a postdoctoral research fellow in IMEC with a scholarship provided by Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.Leuven).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Quan-Bao Ma, Ruben Lieten, Stefan Degroote, Marianne Germain & Gustaaf Borghs

  2. Department of Physics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Quan-Bao Ma, Ruben Lieten & Gustaaf Borghs

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Quan-Bao Ma

  4. Department of Physics, Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Quan-Bao Ma

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  1. Quan-Bao Ma
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  2. Ruben Lieten
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  4. Marianne Germain
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  5. Gustaaf Borghs
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Correspondence to Quan-Bao Ma.

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Ma, QB., Lieten, R., Degroote, S. et al. Indium-Rich InGaN Films Grown on Ge Substrate by Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy for Solar Water Splitting. J. Electron. Mater. 44, 202–209 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3454-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3454-1

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