Abstract
The AlN and Al x Ga1−x N (x = 0.35, 0.73) epitaxial layers were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition. The surface properties of these layers were quantitatively characterized by angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The characterization results revealed that the air-exposed surfaces of the Al-containing AlN and AlGaN films were covered by a thin Al-oxide layer due to the large chemical affinity of aluminum to oxygen. The as-deposited AlN film was proved to be a nitrogen-deficient film. On the other hand, the Ga Auger effect for the as-deposited AlGaN film was found to be greatly suppressed by increasing Al composition. Moreover, the Al composition in the as-deposited AlGaN films was demonstrated to be non-uniform since Al atom is more easily oxidized than Ga atom, especially for the AlGaN film with relatively high Al content. Our work will be beneficial to understanding and controlling of the surface properties for Al-containing III-nitrides.
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Acknowledgments
The work done at National Taiwan University was supported by NSC 98-2221-E-002-015-MY3 and 98-3114-E-005-002-CC2, and by NTU Excellent Research Project (10R80908). The work done at Southeast University was supported by the Innovation Project for Graduate Student of Jiangsu Province (KYLX_0127). The authors would like to thank Prof. Zhe Chuan Feng and Prof. Chee Wee Liu in the Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, Department of Electrical Engineering, and Center for Emerging Material and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University for their fruitful discussions throughout this study.
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Yang, H., Zhang, X., Wang, S. et al. Surface properties of AlN and Al x Ga1−x N epitaxial layers characterized by angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 26, 950–954 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-014-2487-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-014-2487-9