GaMnN thin films were synthesized using gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy. Mn concentrations between 3 and 12 at. % were investigated. No evidence of second-phase formation was observed by powder x-ray diffraction or high-resolution cross section transmission electron microscopy in films with 9% or less Mn. The films were n type as determined by capacitance–voltage or Hall analysis. Magnetic characterization performed using a squid magnetometer showed evidence of ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature for all samples. In agreement with theoretical predictions, material with 3% Mn showed the highest degree of ordering per Mn atom. At 320 K, the samples show a nonzero magnetization indicating a TC above room temperature.

We develop a reciprocal-space model that describes the (hkl) dependence of the broadened Bragg peakwidths produced by x-ray diffraction from a dislocated epilayer. We compare the model to experiments and find that it accurately describes the peakwidths of 16 different Bragg reflections in the [010] zone of both GaN and AlN heterolayers. Using lattice-distortion parameters determined by fitting the model to selected reflections, we estimate threading-dislocation densities for seven different GaN and AlGaN samples and find improved agreement with transmission electron microscopy measurements.

We report the observation of the 1.54-μm luminescence of optically excited Er3+ in ion-implanted epitaxially grown GaN and AlN films using below band-gap excitation. The Er-implanted layers were co-implanted with oxygen. At room temperature, this luminescence for GaN grown on sapphire is nearly as intense as it is at 6 or 77 K and exhibits many resolved transitions between crystal-field levels of the 4I13/2 first excited multiplet and the 4I15/2 ground multiplet.

Single-crystal AlN grown on Al2O3 is found to be wet etched by AZ400K photoresist developer solution, in which the active component is KOH. The etching is thermally activated with an activation energy of 15.5±0.4 kcal mol−1, and the etch rate is found to be strongly dependent on the crystalline quality of the AlN. There was no dependence of etch rate on solution agitation or any crystallographic dependence noted, and the etching is selective over other binary group III nitrides (GaN, InN) and substrate materials such as Al2O3 and GaAs.

No abstract