Low energy electron beam induced damage on InGaN/GaN quantum well structure

In this paper, low energy electron beam (5-20 keV, 0-500 mu As/cm(2)) induced damage on a GaN/InGaN/GaN near-surface quantum well structure is studied. Exposure to low energy electron beam is shown to significantly reduce the optical quality of the structure. It is also observed that reducing the electron beam energy causes larger PL intensity reduction. This can be explained by considering the beam penetration depth, which is shown to be smaller with lower e-beam energies. The damage is believed to be attributed to enhanced dislocation mobility upon low energy electron beam irradiation. However, further studies are needed to confirm the mechanism. These results should be taken into consideration in low energy electron beam related sample characterization and preparation. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3574655]