Cengiz Balkas

Sublimation growth and characterization of bulk aluminum nitride single crystals

Single crystalline platelets of aluminum nitride (AlN) ⩽ 1 mm thick have been grown within the temperature range of 1950–2250°C on 10 × 10 mm2 α(6H)-silicon carbide (SiC) substrates via sublimation-recondensation in a resistively heated graphite furnace. The source material was sintered AlN. A maximum growth rate of 500 μm/h was achieved at 2150°C and a source-to-seed separation of 4 mm. Growth rates below 2000°C were approximately one order of magnitude lower. Crystals grown at high temperatures ranged in color from blue to green due to the incorporation of Si and C from the SiC substrates; those grown at lower temperatures were colorless and transparent. Secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) results showed almost a two order of magnitude decrease in the concentrations of these two impurities in the transparent crystals. Plan view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of these crystals showed no line or planar defects. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicated a strain free material.

Phonon density of states of bulk gallium nitride

We report the measured phonon density of states of a bulk GaN powder by time-of-flight neutron spectroscopy. The observed one-phonon excitation spectrum consists of two broad bands centered at about 23 and 39 meV corresponding to the acoustic and the first group of optical phonons; two sharp bands of upper optic modes at about 75 and 86 meV; and a gap of 45–65 meV. The phonon dispersion curves, lattice specific heat, and Debye temperature are calculated from fitting the data with a rigid-ion model.

Raman analysis of the E1 and A1 quasi-longitudinal optical and quasi-transverse optical modes in wurtzite AlN

This article presents a study of the quasi-longitudinal optical and quasi-transverse optical modes in wurtzite AlN which originate from the interaction of phonons belonging to the A1 and E1 symmetry groups. In order to analyze the allowed quasi as well as pure Raman modes, the modes were observed in a rotating crystallographic coordinate system, and the Raman tensors of the wurtzite crystal structure were calculated as a function of the crystallographic rotation. The frequencies of the quasimodes of wurtzite AlN were also analyzed in terms of the interaction of the polar phonons with the long range electrostatic field model. The experimental values of the Raman frequencies of the quasiphonons concur with these expected from the model, implying that the long range electrostatic field dominates the short range forces for polar phonons in AlN.

Synthesis and characterization of high purity, single phase GaN powder

Synthesis of high-purity, single-phase gallium nitride (GaN) powder has been achieved by reacting molten Ga with flowing ammonia (NH3) in a hot wall tube furnace. The optimum temperature, NH3 flow rate, and position of the boat in the hot wall tube furnace relative to the NH3 inlet for the complete reaction to pure GaN for our system were 975 °C, 400 standard cubic centimeters per minute (seem) and 50 cm, respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data revealed the GaN to be single phase with a = 3.1891 A, c = 5.1855 A, in space group P63mc, Z=2 and Dx =6.089 g cm−3. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a particle size distribution in the crushed material between 1 and 5 μm with most of the particles being ≍1 μm.

Optical metastability in bulk GaN single crystals

Bulk GaN single crystals were grown from cold pressed GaN powder by sublimation in flowing ammonia. Optical transmission measurements indicated that the absorption coefficient for the transparent samples is 50 cm−1 in the wavelength region from 650 to 400 nm. Optical metastability in bulk GaN crystals was studied through time dependent photoluminescence both at room and liquid–nitrogen temperatures. The observation included decreasing output intensity of the ultraviolet emission attributed to the band edge and increasing output intensity of a new emission band centered at 378 nm at room temperature. At liquid–nitrogen temperature, the photoinduced emission band consisted of at least one LO-phonon replica of the zero-phonon line centered at 378 nm. The ratio of output intensities of the photoinduced band to the band edge increased by a factor of 10 during 27 min of exposure time. The photoinduced effect is attributed to the metastable nature of traps in bulk GaN.

Growth of bulk AlN and GaN single crystals by sublimation

Single crystals of AlN to 1 mm thickness were grown in the range 1,950--2,250 C on 10 x 10 mm{sup 2} {alpha}(6H)-SiC(0001) substrates via sublimation-recondensation method. Hot pressed polycrystalline AlN was used as the source material. The color varied from transparent to dark green/blue. The crystal morphology varied with growth conditions. Most crystals were 0.3 mm--1 mm thick transparent layers which completely covered the substrates. Raman, optical and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results are presented. Single crystals of gallium nitride (GaN) were also grown by subliming powders of this material under an ammonia (NH{sub 3}) flow. Optical microscopy, Raman and photoluminescence results are shown.

Growth of micropipe-free single crystal silicon carbide (SiC) ingots via physical vapor transport (PVT)

The move towards commercialization of SiC based devices places increasing demands on the quality of the substrate material. While the industry has steadily decreased the micropipe (MP) levels in commercial SiC substrates over the past years, the achievement of wafers that are entirely free of MPs marks an important milestone in commercialization of SiC based devices. We present the results of a study for controlling the nucleation and propagation of MP defects in SiC ingots grown via PVT. Our studies confirm that during bulk growth of SiC, foreign polytype nucleation such as 3C-polytype occurs at the initial stages of growth (nucleation period) and/or during subsequent growth in the presence of facets. Results in this investigation suggest that polytype instability during crystal growth adversely impacts the MP density. Based on this key concept, growth conditions for nucleation and growth stages were optimized. These conditions were subsequently implemented in an innovative PVT growth environment to achieve a growth technique with highly effective polytype control. Under continuously modulated growth conditions, MPs induced by seed material and/or formed during the growth were eliminated. 2-inch and 3-inch diameter MP-free (zero MP density) conducting 4H-SiC ingots were obtained.

Phonon dynamics and lifetimes of ain and gan crystallites

The quasi-LO and quasi-TO modes of AlN crystallite were investigated. The analysis indicates that the Raman mode behavior concurs with Loudons’ model of mode-mixing in wurtzite (WZ) structure crystals which is due to the long-range electrostatic field. Phononlifetimes of GaN and AlN crystallites were studied via Raman lineshape. It was found that the low energy E2 mode lifetime is about an order of magnitude longer than that of the other modes, and that impurities impact significantly the phonon-lifetimes.

Raman Analysis Of AlxGa1-xN Films

Raman analysis of the E2 mode of Al x Ga l-x N in the composition range 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 is presented. The lineshape was observed to exhibit a significant asymmetry and broadening toward the high energy range. The spatial correlation model is discussed, and is shown to account for the lineshape. The model calculations also indicate the lack of a long-range order in the CVD (chemical vapor deposition) alloys. These results were confirmed by X-ray scattering: the relative intensity of the superlattice line was found to be negligible. The line broadening of the E2 mode was found to exhibit a maximum at a composition x∼0.5 indicative of a random disordered alloy system. The stress state of the alloys was found to be tensile and was attributed to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of the SiC substrate and the film.

Simple Method for Mapping Optical Defects in Insulating Silicon Carbide Wafers

We introduce a simple method for detecting and mapping optically-detectable defects in insulating silicon carbide wafers. A visible-light optical scanner can be used because insulating silicon carbide wafers are transparent to visible light. A standard page scanner is used. attached to a desktop computer. On-wafer resolution of 5.3 μm is available (4800 lines/inch). This is adequate for characterizing defects in many silicon carbide wafers and higher-resolution scanners are becoming available. Sorting for transmission between 0.3 and 0.4 eliminates surface contamination (transmission < 0.2) and the major transmission peak near 0.78. Recent silicon carbide wafers have rather few optical defects, and the optical defect locations can be plotted within a circle representing the wafer periphery using available commercial plotting software. Scanning electron microscope and scanning optical microscope images are used to verify that defects detected optically this way correspond to voids and micropipes.