• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.187-188
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• 2005

The characteristics of GaN epitaxial layers grown on silicon (111) substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy have been investigated. The only control of AlN thickness was found to decrease the stress sufficiently for avoiding crack formation in an overgrown thick ($2.6{\mu}m$) GaN layer. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements are used to determine the effect of AlN thickness on the strain in the subsequent GaN layers. Strong band edge photoluminescence of GaN on Si(111) was observed with a full width at half maximum of the bound exciton line as low as 17meV at 13K.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.183-184
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• 2013

Two main MBE growth techniques have been used: plasma-assisted MBE (PA-MBE), which utilizes a rf plasma to supply active nitrogen, and ammonia MBE, in which nitrogen is supplied by pyrolysis of NH3 on the sample surface during growth. PA-MBE is typically performed under metal-rich growth conditions, which results in the formation of gallium droplets on the sample surface and a narrow range of conditions for optimal growth. In contrast, high-quality GaN films can be grown by ammonia MBE under an excess nitrogen flux, which in principle should result in improved device uniformity due to the elimination of droplets and wider range of stable growth conditions. A drawback of ammonia MBE, on the other hand, is a serious memory effect of NH3 condensed on the cryo-panels and the vicinity of heaters, which ruins the control of critical growth stages, i.e. the native oxide desorption and the surface reconstruction, and the accurate control of V/III ratio, especially in the initial stage of seed layer growth. In this paper, we demonstrate that the reliable and reproducible growth of GaN on Si (110) substrates is successfully achieved by combining two MBE growth technologies using rf plasma and ammonia and setting a proper growth protocol. Samples were grown in a MBE system equipped with both a nitrogen rf plasma source (SVT) and an ammonia source. The ammonia gas purity was ＞99.9999% and further purified by using a getter filter. The custom-made injector designed to focus the ammonia flux onto the substrate was used for the gas delivery, while aluminum and gallium were provided via conventional effusion cells. The growth sequence to minimize the residual ammonia and subsequent memory effects is the following: (1) Native oxides are desorbed at $750^{\circ}C$ (Fig. (a) for [$1^-10$] and [001] azimuth) (2) 40 nm thick AlN is first grown using nitrogen rf plasma source at $900^{\circ}C$ nder the optimized condition to maintain the layer by layer growth of AlN buffer layer and slightly Al-rich condition. (Fig. (b)) (3) After switching to ammonia source, GaN growth is initiated with different V/III ratio and temperature conditions. A streaky RHEED pattern with an appearance of a weak ($2{\times}2$) reconstruction characteristic of Ga-polarity is observed all along the growth of subsequent GaN layer under optimized conditions. (Fig. (c)) The structural properties as well as dislocation densities as a function of growth conditions have been investigated using symmetrical and asymmetrical x-ray rocking curves. The electrical characteristics as a function of buffer and GaN layer growth conditions as well as the growth sequence will be also discussed. Figure: (a) RHEED pattern after oxide desorption (b) after 40 nm thick AlN growth using nitrogen rf plasma source and (c) after 600 nm thick GaN growth using ammonia source for (upper) [110] and (lower) [001] azimuth.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.598-605
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• 2003

The optimized conditions for the cross-sectional TEM sample preparation using tripod polisher and ion-beam miller was confirmed by AFM and TEM. For the TEM observation of interfaces including InGaN layers like InGaN/GaN MQW structures, the sample preparation by the only tripod polishing was useful due to the reduction of artifacts. On the other hand, in case of the thick nitride films like ELO, PE, and superlattice, both tripod polishing and controlled ion-beam milling were required to improve the reproducibility. As a result, the ion-beam milling with the $60^{\circ}$modulation showed the minimum height difference between film and sapphire interface and the ion-beam milling of the $80^{\circ}$modulation showed the broad observable width.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2000

Introduction of the buffer layer and the nitridation of a sapphire substrate were one of the most general methods employed for the reduction of lattice defects in GaN thin films Brown on sapphire by MOCVD. In an effort to improve the initial nucleation and growth condition of the GaN, reactive ion beam (RIB) of nitrogen treatment of the sapphire surface has been attempted. The 10 nm thick, amorphous $AlO_xN_y$ layer was formed by RIB and was partially crystallized alter the main growth of GaN at high temperature, leaving isolated amorphous regions at the interface. The beneficial effect of amorphous layer at interface in relieving the thermal stress between substrate and GaN film was examined by measuring the lattice strain value of the GaN film grown with and without the RIB treatment. Higher order Laue zone pattern (HOLZ) of $[\bar{2}201]$ zone axis was compared with simulated patterns and lattice strain was estimated It was confirmed that the great reduction of thermal strain was achieved by RIB process and the amount of thermal stress was 6 times higher in the GaN film grown by conventional method without the RIB treatment.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.173-177
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• 2014

This study is aimed to the numerical modeling of the surface plasmon-polariton excitation by a layer of active (electrically pumped) quantum dots embedded in a semiconductor, covered with a metal. It is shown that this excitation becomes much more efficient if the metal has a form of a thin (with thickness of several nanometers) film. The cause of this enhancement in comparison with a thick covering metal film is the partial surface plasmon-polariton localized at the metal-semiconductor interface penetration into air. In result the real part of the metal+air half-space effective dielectric function becomes closer (in absolute value) to the real part of the semiconductor dielectric function than in the case of a thick covering metal film. This leads to approaching the point of the surface plasmon-polariton resonance (where absolute values of these parts coincide) and, therefore, the enhancement of the surface plasmon-polariton excitation. The calculations were made for a particular example of InAs quantum dot layer embedded in GaAs matrix covered with an Au film. Its results indicate that for the 10 nm Au film the rate of this excitation becomes by 2.5 times, and for the 5 nm Au film - by 6-7 times larger than in the case of a thick (40 nm or more) Au film.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.16-19
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• 2006

$2-\mu{m}$ thick GaN epilayer was prepared, and 80 KeV $Co^{-}$ ions with a dose of $3X10^{16}\;cm^{-2}$ were implanted into GaN at $350^{\circ}C$. The implanted samples were post annealed at $700^{\circ}C$. We have investigated the magnetic and structural properties of Co ion-implanted GaN by various measurements. HRXRD results did not show any peaks associated with second phase formation and only the diffraction from the GaN layer and substrate structure were observed. SIMS profiles of Co implanted into GaN before and after annealing at $700^{\circ}C$ have shown a projected range of $\sim390\AA$ with 7.4% concentration and that there is little movement in Co. AFM measurement shows the form of surface craters for $700^{\circ}C$-annealed samples. The magnetization curve and temperature dependence of magnetization taken in zero-field-cooling (ZFC) and field-cooling (FC) conditions showed the features of superparamagnetic system in film. XPS measurement showed the metallic Co 2p core levels spectra for $700^{\circ}C$-annealed samples. From this, it could be explained that magnetic property of our films originated from Co magnetic clusters.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2006

A method for fabrication of nano-scale GaN structure by inductively coupled plasma etching is proposed, exploiting a thermal dewetting of Pt thin film as an etch mask. The nano-scale Pt metal islands were formed by the dewetting of 2-dimensional film on $SiO_2$ dielectric materials during rapid thermal annealing process. For the case of 30 nm thick Pt films, pattern formation and dewetting was initiated at temperatures greater $600^{\circ}C$. Controlling the annealing temperature and time as well as the thickness of the Pt metal film affected the size and density of Pt islands. The activation energy for the formation of Pt metal island was calculated to be 23.2 KJ/mole. The islands show good resistance to dry etching by a $CF_4$ based plasma for dielectric etching indicating that the metal islands produced by dewetting are suitable for use as an etch mask in the fabrication of nano-scale structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.359-359
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• 2014

In this study, surface plasmon resonance structures for the selective and the enhanced transmission of infrared light were designed. In order to relieve the large discontinuity of refractive index between air and metal hole array, $Si_3N_4$ was used as the impedance matching layer. Experimental parameter were calculated and determined in advance by the rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) simulation, and then the experiment was carried out. A 2-dimensional metal hole array structures were patterned on the size of $1{\times}1cm^2$ GaAs substrate using photolithography process, and 5 nm thick Ti, 50 nm thick Au were deposited by E-beam evaporator, respectively. Subsequently, $Si_3N_4$ films with various thicknesses (150, 350, 550, and 750 nm) were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). For the comparison, transmittance of specimens with and without $Si_3N_4$ was measured using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in the range of $2.5-15{\mu}m$. Furthermore, the surface and the cross-sectional images were collected from the specimens by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From the results, it was demonstrated that the transmittance was enhanced up to 80% by the deposition of 750 nm $Si_3N_4$ at $6.23{\mu}m$. It has advantage of enhanced transmission despite the simple fabrication process.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.85-90
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• 2015

Two-step processes for preparing $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ absorber layers consist of precursor layer formation and subsequent annealing in a Se-containing atmosphere. Among the various deposition methods for precursor layer, the nonvacuum (wet) processes have been spotlighted as alternatives to vacuum-based methods due to their potential to realize low-cost, scalable PV devices. However, due to its porous nature, the precursor layer deposited on Mo substrate by nonvacuum methods often suffers from thick $MoSe_2$ formation during selenization under a high Se vapor pressure. On the contrary, selenization under a low Se pressure to avoid $MoSe_2$ formation typically leads to low crystal quality of absorber films. Although TiN has been reported as a diffusion barrier against Se, the additional sputtering to deposit TiN layer may induce the complexity of fabrication process and nullify the advantages of nonvacuum deposition of absorber film. In this work, Mo oxide layers via thermal oxidation of Mo substrate have been explored as an alternative diffusion barrier. The morphology and phase evolution was examined as a function of oxidation temperature. The resulting Mo/Mo oxides double layers were employed as a back contact electrode for $CuInSe_2$ solar cells and were found to effectively suppress the formation of $MoSe_2$ layer.