High nitrogen flux plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy growth of InxGa1-xN films

Abstract

Growth of efficient III-N based light emitting devices by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy has been elusive, even though the technique has attractive advantages in comparison to metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Modern high-flux radio frequency plasma systems could remedy this issue by enabling growth of InxGa1-xN at higher temperatures than previously possible, likely improving the material quality. In this work, active nitrogen fluxes of up to 3.5 μm/h GaN-equivalent growth rate were employed to grow InxGa1-xN alloys. InxGa1-xN growth rates of 1.3 μm/h were demonstrated at growth temperatures of 550 °C and 600 °C with maximum film compositions of In0.25Ga0.75N and In0.21Ga0.79N, respectively. A composition of In0.05Ga0.95N was observed in a film grown at 700 °C with smooth step-terrace morphology.