Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T13:01:39.539Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Vapor phase transport of AlN in an RF heated reactor: Low and high temperature studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

V. Noveski
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695–7919, USA Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287–6006, USA
R. Schlesser
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695–7919, USA
J. Freitas
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
S. Mahajan Jr
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287–6006, USA
S. Beaudoin
Affiliation:
School of Chemical Engineering Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907–2100, USA
Z. Sitar
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695–7919, USA
Get access

Abstract

AlN crystals were grown from the vapor phase in an RF heated AlN sublimation reactor. The studies were performed with the following goals: 1) to optimize the growth rate by investigating mass transfer effects, and 2) to establish a process for epitaxial growth on AlN seeds. A one-dimensional mass transfer model based on equilibrium sublimation and gas-phase diffusion was developed. Model parameters were estimated and the model was validated from growth experiments carried out in a 600 Torr nitrogen atmosphere and temperatures ranging from 2000 to 2400°C. Continuous growth on AlN seed crystals was accomplished as a result of optimizing the initial stage of growth and achieving a delicate balance between the rate of mass transfer and the rate of surface rearrangement. During this experimental study, centimeter-size single crystals of AlN were obtained within the 1.25” diameter boule that was grown at a predicted growth rate of 0.1–0.3 mm/hr, at 500 Torr of nitrogen, short source-to-seed distance, low supersaturation and growth temperatures of 2110–2140°C. Chemical analysis of impurities in the grown AlN boules confirmed a very low oxygen contamination of 100 ppm wt. Cathodoluminescence studies showed well defined near band edge emission peak located slightly above 6 eV.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

[1] Monemar, B., J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. in Electronics 10 (1999) 227.Google Scholar
[2] Liu, L., Edgar, J., Mater. Sci. Eng. R37 (2002) 61.Google Scholar
[3] Ambracher, O., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 31 (1998) 2653.Google Scholar
[4] Schlesser, R., Dalmau, R., Sitar, Z., J. Crys. Growth 241 (2002) 416.Google Scholar
[6] Schlesser, R., Dalmau, R., Yakimova, R., Sitar, Z., Mat. Res. Symp. Proc. 693 (2001) I941.Google Scholar
[7] Rojo, J. C., Slack, G. A., Morgan, K., Schowalter, L. J., Dudley, M., Mat. Res. Symp. Vol.639 (2001) G1.10.1.Google Scholar
[8] Rojo, J. C., Slack, G. A., Morgan, K., Raghothamachar, B., Dudley, M., Schowalter, L. J., J. Crys. Growth 231 (2001) 317.Google Scholar
[9] Slack, G. A., Schowalter, L. J., Morelli, D., Freitas, J. A. Jr, J. Crys. Growth 246 (2002) 287.Google Scholar
[10] Bickermann, M., Epelbaum, B. M., Winnacker, A., Phys. Stat. Sol. (a), in press.Google Scholar
[11] Noveski, V., Schlesser, R., Mahajan, S., Beaudoin, S., Sitar, Z., Submitted to J. Crys. Growth.Google Scholar
[12] Wu, B., Zhang, H., Noveski, V., Schlesser, R., Mahajan, S., Beaudoin, S.. Sitar, Z., to be submitted to J. Crys. Growth.Google Scholar
[13] Perlin, T., Polian, A., Suski, T., Phys. Rev. (b), 47 (1993) 2874.Google Scholar