TY - JOUR

T1 - Tackling residual tensile stress in AlN-on-Si nucleation layers via the controlled Si(111) surface nitridation

AU - Milakhin, Denis

AU - Malin, Timur

AU - Mansurov, Vladimir

AU - Maidebura, Yan

AU - Bashkatov, Dmitriy

AU - Milekhin, Ilya

AU - Goryainov, Sergey

AU - Volodin, Vladimir

AU - Loshkarev, Ivan

AU - Vdovin, Vladimir

AU - Gutakovskii, Anton

AU - Ponomarev, Sergei

AU - Zhuravlev, Konstantin

N1 - AFM, STM, HR-TEM and Raman experiments were carried out using the equipment of the shared-user facility \u201CNanostructures\u201D in the ISP Center. The authors also acknowledge the Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS for the use of their LabRam-HR800 spectrometer and He-Cd vapor laser with the UV 325 nm line and Shared Research Center \u201CVTAN\u201D of the Novosibirsk State University for the use of their experimental equipment. This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation within the state task FWGW-2022\u20130015 \u201CAmmonia molecular beam epitaxy of GaN heterostructures on silicon substrates for power and microwave transistors\u201D.

PY - 2024/7/23

Y1 - 2024/7/23

N2 - This work is devoted to the study of the influence of controlled Si(111) surface nitridation on the epitaxial growth of AlN-on-Si nucleation layers with reduced tensile stress on ordered crystalline silicon nitride phase. The Si(111) surface nitridation process was performed at low ammonia flux and substrate temperatures in the range of 700–900 °C and was studied using RHEED and STM techniques. A universal criterion, namely the stage of the nitridation process completion is introduced, taking into account the influence of substrate temperature, ammonia flux and nitridation time. The 100 nm AlN nucleation layer on silicon substrates grown by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy is studied using AFM, XRD, HR-TEM and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The Raman data show that reducing the nitridation temperature from 900 °C to 700 °C not only deteriorates the crystalline quality of the subsequent AlN nucleation layers, but also reduces the residual tensile stress by almost 30 %. In the present contribution, micro-Raman spectroscopy is used to determine the nature of the defects formed during the high temperature growth of the AlN nucleation layers and confirms them to be inversion domains. The HR-TEM technique was used to study the AlN/Si interface in AlN-on-Si nucleation layers grown on a nitridated silicon surface at 700 °C and 900 °C at the optimum stage of the nitridation process completion. HR-TEM images of AlN nucleation layers revealed regions with different AlN/Si(111) interfaces: 1) AlN/amorph-Si3N4/Si, 2) AlN/SiN(8 × 8)/Si, and 3) AlN/Si with a sharp interface boundary. Using fast Fourier transform image analysis, it is shown that the presence of amorphous Si3N4 phase inclusions in the AlN/Si interface boundary introduces tensile stresses in the AlN nucleation layer which can be reduced by lowering the nitridation temperature. The results obtained clearly show that one of the causes of cracks in III-nitride layers grown on silicon substrates is the formation of tensile AlN layers with a high content of the amorphous Si3N4 phase at the AlN/Si interface, which is characteristic of silicon nitridation at elevated temperatures (> 700 °C).

AB - This work is devoted to the study of the influence of controlled Si(111) surface nitridation on the epitaxial growth of AlN-on-Si nucleation layers with reduced tensile stress on ordered crystalline silicon nitride phase. The Si(111) surface nitridation process was performed at low ammonia flux and substrate temperatures in the range of 700–900 °C and was studied using RHEED and STM techniques. A universal criterion, namely the stage of the nitridation process completion is introduced, taking into account the influence of substrate temperature, ammonia flux and nitridation time. The 100 nm AlN nucleation layer on silicon substrates grown by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy is studied using AFM, XRD, HR-TEM and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The Raman data show that reducing the nitridation temperature from 900 °C to 700 °C not only deteriorates the crystalline quality of the subsequent AlN nucleation layers, but also reduces the residual tensile stress by almost 30 %. In the present contribution, micro-Raman spectroscopy is used to determine the nature of the defects formed during the high temperature growth of the AlN nucleation layers and confirms them to be inversion domains. The HR-TEM technique was used to study the AlN/Si interface in AlN-on-Si nucleation layers grown on a nitridated silicon surface at 700 °C and 900 °C at the optimum stage of the nitridation process completion. HR-TEM images of AlN nucleation layers revealed regions with different AlN/Si(111) interfaces: 1) AlN/amorph-Si3N4/Si, 2) AlN/SiN(8 × 8)/Si, and 3) AlN/Si with a sharp interface boundary. Using fast Fourier transform image analysis, it is shown that the presence of amorphous Si3N4 phase inclusions in the AlN/Si interface boundary introduces tensile stresses in the AlN nucleation layer which can be reduced by lowering the nitridation temperature. The results obtained clearly show that one of the causes of cracks in III-nitride layers grown on silicon substrates is the formation of tensile AlN layers with a high content of the amorphous Si3N4 phase at the AlN/Si interface, which is characteristic of silicon nitridation at elevated temperatures (> 700 °C).

KW - AlN nucleation layer

KW - AlN-on-Si

KW - Ammonia molecular-beam epitaxy (NH3-MBE)

KW - Crystalline SiN(8 × 8)

KW - HR-TEM

KW - Inversion domains

KW - Nitridation

KW - RHEED

KW - Raman spectroscopy

KW - Residual tensile stress

KW - STM

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85199180172&origin=inward&txGid=6ad68c100afb85ca352203735384051b

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/50c160dd-7376-31b3-98e9-d7b48dafa964/

U2 - 10.1016/j.surfin.2024.104817

DO - 10.1016/j.surfin.2024.104817

M3 - Article

VL - 51

JO - Surfaces and Interfaces

JF - Surfaces and Interfaces

SN - 2468-0230

M1 - 104817

ER -