Si doping in MOCVD grown (010) β-(AlxGa1-x)2O3 thin films

In this work, the structural and electrical properties of metalorganic chemical vapor deposited Si-doped beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 thin films grown on (010) beta-Ga2O3 substrates are investigated as a function of Al composition. The room temperature Hall mobility of 101 cm(2)/V s and low temperature peak mobility (T = 65 K) of 1157 cm(2)/V s at carrier concentrations of 6.56 x 10(17) and 2.30 x 10(17) cm(-3) are measured from 6% Al composition samples, respectively. The quantitative secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) characterization reveals a strong dependence of Si and other unintentional impurities, such as C, H, and Cl concentrations in beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 thin films, with different Al compositions. Higher Al compositions in beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 result in lower net carrier concentrations due to the reduction of Si incorporation efficiency and the increase of C and H impurity levels that act as compensating acceptors in beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 films. Lowering the growth chamber pressure reduces Si concentrations in beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 films due to the increase of Al compositions as evidenced by comprehensive SIMS and Hall characterizations. Due to the increase of lattice mismatch between the epifilm and substrate, higher Al compositions lead to cracking in beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 films grown on beta-Ga2O3 substrates. The (100) cleavage plane is identified as a major cracking plane limiting the growth of high-quality Si-doped (010) beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 films beyond the critical thicknesses, which leads to highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous behaviors in terms of conductivity. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

This work investigates the structural and electrical properties of metalorganic chemical vapor deposited Si-doped beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 thin films grown on (010) beta-Ga2O3 substrates as a function of Al composition. The results show that increasing Al composition leads to a decrease in Si incorporation efficiency, an increase in C and H impurity levels, and lower net carrier concentrations in the films. Higher Al compositions also result in cracking in the films due to lattice mismatch with the substrate. The study highlights the importance of Al composition in determining the properties of Si-doped beta-(AlxGa1-x)(2)O-3 films.