The present work describes the novel, relatively simple, and efficient technique of pulsed laser deposition for rapid prototyping of thin films and multi-layer heterostructures of wide band gap semiconductors and related materials. In this method, a KrF pulsed excimer laser is used for ablation of polycrystalline, stoichiometric targets of wide band gap materials. Upon laser absorption by the target surface, a strong plasma plume is produced which then condenses onto the substrate, kept at a suitable distance from the target surface. We have optimized the processing parameters such as laser fluence, substrate temperature, background gas pressure, target to substrate distance, and pulse repetition rate for the growth of high quality crystalline thin films and heterostructures. The films have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering and ion channeling spectrometry, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence, and electrical transport measurements. We show that high quality AlN and GaN thin films can be grown by pulsed laser deposition at relatively lower substrate temperatures (750-800°C) than those employed in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), (1000-1100°C), an alternative growth method. The pulsed laser deposited GaN films (~0.5 µm thick), grown on AlN buffered sapphire (0001), shows an x-ray diffraction rocking curve full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 5-7 arc-min. The ion channeling minimum yield in the surface region for AlN and GaN is ~3%, indicating a high degree of crystallinity. The optical band gap for AlN and GaN is found to be 6.2 and 3.4 eV, respectively. These epitaxial films are shiny, and the surface root mean square roughness is ~5-15 nm. The electrical resistivity of the GaN films is in the range of 10 -2 -10 2 Ω-cm with a mobility in excess of 80 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and a carrier concentration of 10 17 -10 19 cm -3 , depending upon the buffer layers and growth conditions. We have also demonstrated the application of the pulsed laser deposition technique for integration of technologically important materials with the III-V nitrides. The examples include pulsed laser deposition of ZnO/GaN heterostructures for UV-blue lasers and epitaxial growth of TiN on GaN and SiC for low resistance ohmic contact metallization. Employing the pulsed laser, we also demonstrate a dry etching process for GaN and AlN films.

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a b s t r a c tThe optical and structural properties of AlGaN active regions containing nanoscale compositional inhomogeneities (NCI) grown on low dislocation density bulk AlN substrates are reported. These substrates are found to improve the internal quantum efficiency and structural quality of NCI-AlGaN active regions for high Al content alloys, as well as the interfaces of the NCI with the surrounding wider bandgap matrix, as manifested in the absence of any significant long decay component of the low temperature radiative lifetime, which is well characterized by a single exponential photoluminescence decay with a 330 ps time constant. However, room temperature results indicate that non-radiative recombination associated with the high point defect density becomes a limiting factor in these films even at low dislocation densities for larger AlN mole fractions.Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Due to limited success in wet etching of GaN and AIN, dry etching techniques have become more relevant for the processing of the GaN films. Here we demonstrate the results of an alternative dry etching process, namely, pulsed laser etching, for GaN and AIN. In this method, a KrF pulsed excimer laser (.=248 nm, 'c=30 ns) was used to etch epitaxial GaN and AIN films. The dependence of the etching characteristics on the laser energy density and the number of pulses has been studied. The etch depth showed a linear dependence on the number of pulses over a wide range of laser energy densities. The threshold intensity for GaN etching was determined to be 0.33 J/cm 2 . The etching rate was found to be a strong function of laser energy density. Above the threshold, the etch rate was found to be 300-1400 A per pulse leading to etching rates of 0.1-1tm/sec depending upon the laser energy density and the pulse repetition rate. It is shown that the etching mechanism is based on laser induced absorption, decomposition and layer by layer removal of the GaN.