Toward crack-free AlN growth on silicon (111) by introducing boron incorporated buffer layer via MOCVD

Mingtao Nong, Xiao Tang, Che Hao Liao, Haicheng Cao, Tingang Liu, Zixian Jiang, Dhanu Chettri, Kexin Ren, Xiaohang Li*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number172107
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume125
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 21 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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