Ramon Collazo

Surface preparation and homoepitaxial deposition of AlN on (0001)-oriented AlN substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Chemical surface treatments were conducted on mechanically polished (MP) and chemomechanically polished (CMP) (0001)-oriented single crystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates to determine a surface preparation procedure for the homoepitaxial deposition of AlN epitaxial layers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. MP AlN substrates characterized by atomic force microscopy exhibited 0.5 nm rms roughness and polishing scratches, while CMP AlN substrates exhibited 0.1 nm rms roughness and were scratch-free. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of MP and CMP AlN substrates indicated the presence of a surface hydroxide layer composed of mixed aluminum oxide hydroxide and aluminum trihydroxide. Wet etching with sulfuric and phosphoric acid mixtures reduced the amount of surface hydroxide. Ammonia annealing at 1250 °C converted the substrate hydroxide layer to AlN and increased the rms roughness of MP and CMP AlN substrates to 2.2 nm and 0.2 nm, respectively. AlN epitaxial layers were deposited at 1...

Influence of gallium supersaturation on the properties of GaN grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

A thermodynamic supersaturation model for gallium (Ga) was developed to describe GaN growth characteristics in low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The model takes into account the simplified GaN chemical reaction that occurs at the growth interface, Ga+NH3=GaN+3/2H2. The supersaturation was varied in two ways: (1) by the V/III ratio and (2) by the choice of the diluent gas. Two diluent gases were considered: H2, a commonly used diluent gas, and N2, a reaction inert gas. The choice of the diluent played a role in the degree of Ga supersaturation; since H2 is the product in the GaN formation, the addition of hydrogen significantly lowered the supersaturation. Atomic force microscopy revealed that surface morphology was associated with the different Ga supersaturation and the Burton–Cabrera–Frank model was used to relate it to the observed spiral size and terrace width. In addition to growth morphology, the degree of Ga supersaturation also influenced the carrier compensation level in n-type...

Growth and Characterization of AlN and AlGaN Epitaxial Films on AlN Single Crystal Substrates

AlN and AlGaN epitaxial films were deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on single crystal AlN substrates processed from AlN boules grown by physical vapor transport. Structural, chemical, and optical characterization demonstrated the high crystalline quality of the films and interfaces.

On the origin of the 265 nm absorption band in AlN bulk crystals

Single crystal AlN provides a native substrate for Al-rich AlGaN that is needed for the development of efficient deep ultraviolet light emitting and laser diodes. An absorption band centered around 4.7 eV (∼265 nm) with an absorption coefficient above 1000 cm−1 is observed in these substrates. Based on density functional theory calculations, substitutional carbon on the nitrogen site introduces absorption at this energy. A series of single crystalline wafers were used to demonstrate that this absorption band linearly increased with carbon, strongly supporting the model that CN- is the predominant state for carbon in AlN.

MgO epitaxy on GaN (0002) surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy

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 1.4A over 1μm2 areas. X-ray diffraction analysis suggests MgO film stability up to 850°C in ex situ air annealing.

The mechanism for polarity inversion of GaN via a thin AlN layer: Direct experimental evidence

Lateral-polarity heterostructures of GaN on c sapphire were prepared by deposition and patterning of a thin low-temperature AlN nucleation layer. Adjacent macroscopic domains were found to have opposite polarity; domains grown on the AlN nucleation layer were Ga polar while those grown on the nitrided sapphire were N polar, as confirmed by convergent-beam electron diffraction and Z-contrast images. We directly determined the atomic interface structure between the AlN and c sapphire with an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope at ∼1.0A resolution. This is the direct experimental evidence for the origin of the polarity control in III nitrides. This understanding is an important step toward manipulating polarity in these semiconductors.

Vacancy compensation and related donor-acceptor pair recombination in bulk AlN

A prominent 2.8 eV emission peak is identified in bulk AlN substrates grown by physical vapor transport. This peak is shown to be related to the carbon concentration in the samples. Density functional theory calculations predict that this emission is caused by a donor-acceptor pair (DAP) recombination between substitutional carbon on the nitrogen site and a nitrogen vacancy. Photoluminescence and photoluminescence-excitation spectroscopy are used to confirm the model and indicate the DAP character of the emission. The interaction between defects provides a pathway to creating ultraviolet-transparent AlN substrates for optoelectronics applications.

Weakly Charged Cationic Nanoparticles Induce DNA Bending and Strand Separation

Weakly charged cationic nanoparticles cause structural changes including local denaturing and compaction to DNA under mild conditions. The charged ligands bind to the phosphate backbone of DNA and the uncharged ligands penetrate the helix and disrupt base pairing. Mobility shifts in electrophoresis, molecular dynamics, and UV-vis spectrophotometry give clues to the details of the interactions.

Two field-emission states of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Two field-emission states of single-walled carbon nanotubes have been identified according to their respective emission current levels. The state yielding increased emission current has been attributed to the presence of adsorbates on the nanotubes. It was realized that, by application of high electric fields inducing large emission currents, a transition between the two states could be induced. For the high current state, field-emitted electrons originated from states located 1 eV below the Fermi level, as was determined by field-emission energy distribution measurements. This suggested that adsorbates introduced a resonant state on the surface that enhanced the tunneling probability of the electrons. These states are removed when the nanotubes are cleaned by application of a large electric field, thus, decreasing the field-emitted current.

Strain in Si doped GaN and the Fermi level effect

Using high resolution x-ray diffraction and Hall effect measurements, we found that the tensile strain caused by dislocation inclination in Si doped GaN became immeasurable when carbon codoping was used to compensate the free carriers. This result suggested that the tensile strain is related to free carrier concentration instead of Si concentration. Such an effect could be explained by the Fermi level effect on the surface-mediated dislocation climb governed by Ga vacancies, whose concentration is strongly influenced by the Fermi level position. This phenomenon is possibly similar to the well-known Fermi level effect in GaAs and GaP systems.