We have evaluated the thermal stability of Al2O3/LaAlO3/Si (001) stacks with atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry using a back side polishing approach. Crystallization of the amorphous LaAlO3 film was found to occur for rapid thermal anneals (RTA) above 935 °C for 20 s, in flowing N2. Penetration of Al and La into the underlying Si (001) is clearly observed for RTA at or above 950 °C for 20 s in flowing N2.

Sub‐300 nm optically pumped ultraviolet lasers were realized on low‐defect‐density (0001) AlN substrates fabricated from single crystalline AlN boules. The AlxGa1–xN/AlyGa1–yN hetero‐structures were grown by metal‐organic vapor phase epitaxy near atmospheric pressure. The high structural quality of the pseudomorphically deposited films was confirmed by X‐ray reciprocal space mappings and time‐resolved photoluminescence (PL) studies of the multiple quantum well emission.The initial PL‐decay times for a sample emitting at 267 nm were 0.87 ns and 1.14 ns for T = 295 K and T = 14 K, respectively. Laser resonators with a length of about 1 mm were formed by cleaving the AlN crystal to obtain m‐plane mirror facets. Lasing was demonstrated for various wavelengths between 267 and 291 nm with the threshold power density as low as 126 kW/cm2 for the shortest attempted wavelength. The laser emission was TE polarized for all emission wavelengths. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

We report on the epitaxial deposition of magnesium oxide films with [111] crystallographic orientation on (0002) GaN by molecular beam epitaxy. Specifically, we use an adsorption controlled growth mechanism to initiate the growth process. Electron diffraction shows a spotty intense pattern without intensity fluctuations during growth and evidence of in-plane twinning. X-ray diffraction reveals the films to be epitaxial with full width at half maximum values of 0.3°, 0.5°, and 1° in 2θ, ϕ, and χ circles, respectively. Wet etching of the GaN surface with a HCl:HF mixture prior to growth is critical for achieving high crystalline quality. Epitaxial growth is observed between room temperature and 650°C, with negligible changes in crystalline quality with increased temperature. Atomic force microscopy analysis shows grainy surfaces with feature sizes near 10nm and rms roughness values of 1.4Å over 1μm2 areas. X-ray diffraction analysis suggests MgO film stability up to 850°C in ex situ air annealing.

Aluminum nitride (AlN) single crystal boules were grown by physical vapor transport (PVT). Diameter expansion during boule growth, without the introduction of low angle grain boundaries (LAGB) around the boule periphery, was confirmed by crossed polarizer imaging, synchrotron white beam x-ray topography (SWBXT), and synchrotron monochromatic beam x-ray topography (SMBXT). The densities of basal plane dislocations (BPD) and threading edge dislocations (TED) averaged from high-magnification topographs of five regions of a high-quality substrate were 0 cm-2 and 992 cm-2, respectively. Substrates fabricated from AlN boules possessed excellent surface finishes suitable for epitaxy.

Using the physical vapor transport (PVT) method, single crystal boules of AlN have been grown and wafers sliced from them have been characterized by synchrotron white beam X-ray topography (SWBXT) in conjunction with optical microscopy. X-ray topographs reveal that the wafers contain dislocations that are inhomogeneously distributed with densities varying from as low as 0 cm-2 to as high as 104 cm-2. Two types of dislocations have been identified: basal plane dislocations and threading dislocations, both having Burgers vectors of type 1/3<112-0> indicating that their origin is likely due to post-growth deformation. In some cases, the dislocations are arranged in low angle grain boundaries. However, large areas of the wafers are nearly dislocation-free and section X-ray topographs of these regions reveal the high crystalline perfection.