TY - JOUR
T1 - Toward crack-free AlN growth on silicon (111) by introducing boron incorporated buffer layer via MOCVD
AU - Nong, Mingtao
AU - Tang, Xiao
AU - Liao, Che Hao
AU - Cao, Haicheng
AU - Liu, Tingang
AU - Jiang, Zixian
AU - Chettri, Dhanu
AU - Ren, Kexin
AU - Li, Xiaohang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Author(s).
PY - 2024/10/21
Y1 - 2024/10/21
N2 - High-quality aluminum nitride (AlN) films on silicon substrates are crucial for various applications due to their inherent properties as wide-bandgap semiconductors, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility with silicon-based circuits. Nonetheless, producing high-quality and crack-free AlN on silicon presents significant challenges due to the stress caused by lattice and thermal expansion mismatches. This study introduces a method to mitigate these challenges by incorporating a boron precursor during the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition process to form a BAlN buffer layer. Analytical techniques, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry, atomic force microscopy imaging, XRD rocking curves, reciprocal space map, and Raman spectroscopy, indicate that the BAlN buffer layer promotes the enlargement of seed crystal size, which effectively delays AlN coalescence, mitigates accumulated tensile stress, and enhances the overall crystal quality. Employing this technique has produced a 520 nm thick, crack-free AlN film on silicon (111) with high crystal quality, achieving full width at half maximum values of only 0.2° and 0.3° for XRC (002) and (102), respectively.
AB - High-quality aluminum nitride (AlN) films on silicon substrates are crucial for various applications due to their inherent properties as wide-bandgap semiconductors, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility with silicon-based circuits. Nonetheless, producing high-quality and crack-free AlN on silicon presents significant challenges due to the stress caused by lattice and thermal expansion mismatches. This study introduces a method to mitigate these challenges by incorporating a boron precursor during the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition process to form a BAlN buffer layer. Analytical techniques, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry, atomic force microscopy imaging, XRD rocking curves, reciprocal space map, and Raman spectroscopy, indicate that the BAlN buffer layer promotes the enlargement of seed crystal size, which effectively delays AlN coalescence, mitigates accumulated tensile stress, and enhances the overall crystal quality. Employing this technique has produced a 520 nm thick, crack-free AlN film on silicon (111) with high crystal quality, achieving full width at half maximum values of only 0.2° and 0.3° for XRC (002) and (102), respectively.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85208278985&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/5.0233425
DO - 10.1063/5.0233425
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85208278985
SN - 0003-6951
VL - 125
JO - Applied Physics Letters
JF - Applied Physics Letters
IS - 17
M1 - 172107
ER -