Influence of the PALE growth temperature on quality of MOVPE grown AlN/Si (111)

at different growth temperatures by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) technique. The oxygen (O) and silicon (Si) concentrations of grown PALE-AlN epilayers and interface between epilayer and substrate were investigated by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). It was observed that O and Si concentration change with growth temperature of epilayers as well as the interface significantly. HRXRD (high-resolution x-ray diffraction) analyses showed that the highest growth temperature results with the lowest full width at half maximum (FWHM) value for both ɷ scans. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses indicated that relatively low growth temperature grown samples gave rise to 2D-like growth mode with openings while increased growth temperature resulted in change the growth mode to a columnar mode with increasing V-shape pits because of the increasing diffusion coefficient of O impurities and Si atoms in AlN epilayers.