Comparative Studies of c- and m-Plane AlN Seeds Grown by Physical Vapor Transport

Materials (Basel). 2022 Dec 9;15(24):8791. doi: 10.3390/ma15248791.

Abstract

The ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor AlN has attracted a great deal of attention owing to its wide application potential in the field of electronics and optoelectronic devices. In this report, based on the mechanism of the physical vapor transport (PVT) growth of AlN crystal, the c- and m-plane AlN seed crystals were prepared simultaneously through special temperature field design. It is proved that AlN crystals with different orientations can be obtained at the same temperature field. The structure parameter of AlN crystal was obtained through the characteristic evaluations. In detail, XPS was used to analyze the chemical states and bonding states of the surface of seed crystals. The content of oxygen varied along with distinct orientations. Raman spectrum documented a small level of compressive stress on these crystal seeds. Tested results confirmed that the prepared AlN crystal seeds had high quality.

Keywords: AlN; PVT; compressive stress; structure parameter.