Correlation Between Lattice Strain and Energy Gap Bowing of Al_xGa_1-xN Epitaxial Thin Films

Abstract

The correlation between the energy band-gap of AlxGa1-xN epitaxial thin films and lattice strain was investigated using both High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE). The Al fraction, lattice relaxation, and elastic lattice strain were determined for all AlxGa1-xN epilayers, and the energy gap as well. Given the type of intermediate layer, a correlation trend was found between energy band-gap bowing parameter and lattice mismatch, the higher the lattice mismatch is, the smaller the bowing parameter (b) will be.