Abstract
The initial stages of the cubic indium nitride film growth at 350 °C were studied using low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The technique of the pre-deposition of indium was applied, that is, a layer of indium was first deposited on sapphire surface before the growth of InN. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the pre-deposition of indium is able to promote the growth of InN films, and meanwhile, suppress the indium aggregation in the as-grown films. Atomic force microscopy images of InN films indicate that the pre-deposition of indium not only enhances the density of nucleate sites, but also facilitates the coalescence among the InN islands. The free energy calculations reveal that the pre-deposited indium atoms preferentially react with NH and N radicals after NH3 introduction, which leads to the formation of InN on the sapphire surface. The preferentially formed InN is then supposed to be responsible for the above phenomena.
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Project G2000068305, Hi-tech Research Project (2003AA311060, 2001AA311110), Distinguished Young Scientist Grant (60025411) and National Nature Science Foundation of China (60290083, 60136020).
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Bi, Z.X., Zhang, R., Xie, Z.L. et al. Initial stages of the cubic-InN growth with the technique of the pre-deposition of indium. J Mater Sci 42, 6377–6381 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-1187-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-1187-0