Jiang, Zonglin; Yan, Dan; Zhang, Ning; Wang, Junxi; Wei, Xuecheng

Source: Materials, v 17, n 11, June 2024; E-ISSN: 19961944; DOI: 10.3390/ma17112518; Article number: 2518; Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)

Author affiliation:

Research and Development Center for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; 100083, China

College of Materials Science and Opto–Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; 100049, China

Abstract:

This study focuses on the heavily Mg-doped GaN in which the passivation effect of hydrogen and the compensation effect of nitrogen vacancies (VN) impede its further development. To investigate those two factors, H ion implantation followed by thermal annealing was performed on the material. The evolution of relevant defects (H and VN) was revealed, and their distinct behaviors during thermal annealing were compared between different atmospheres (N2/NH3). The concentration of H and its associated yellow luminescence (YL) band intensity decrease as the thermal annealing temperature rises, regardless of the atmosphere being N2 or NH3. However, during thermal annealing in NH3, the decrease in H concentration is notably faster compared to N2. Furthermore, a distinct trend is observed in the behavior of the blue luminescence (BL) band under N2 and NH3. Through a comprehensive analysis of surface properties, we deduce that the decomposition of NH3 during thermal annealing not only promotes the out-diffusion of H ions from the material, but also facilitates the repair of VN on the surface of heavily Mg-doped GaN. This research could provide crucial insights into the post-growth process of heavily Mg-doped GaN.