High-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition of GaN on 1D Nanostructures

Abstract

Silica nanosprings (NS) were coated with gallium nitride (GaN) by high-temperature atomic layer deposition. The deposition temperature was 800 °C using trimethylgallium (TMG) as the Ga source and ammonia (NH3) as the reactive nitrogen source. The growth of GaN on silica nanosprings was compared with deposition of GaN thin films to elucidate the growth properties. The effects of buffer layers of aluminum nitride (AlN) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) on the stoichiometry, chemical bonding, and morphology of GaN thin films were determined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of coated silica nanosprings were compared with corresponding data for the GaN thin films. As grown, GaN on NS is conformal and amorphous. Upon introducing buffer layers of Al2O3 or AlN or combinations thereof, GaN is nanocrystalline with an average crystallite size of 11.5 ± 0.5 nm. The electrical properties of the GaN coated NS depends on whether or not a buffer layer is present and the choice of the buffer layer. In addition, the IV curves of GaN coated NS and the thin films (TF) with corresponding buffer layers, or lack thereof, show similar characteristic features, which supports the conclusion that atomic layer deposition (ALD) of GaN thin films with and without buffer layers translates to 1D nanostructures.

Epitaxial growth of 1D GaN-based heterostructures on various substrates for photonic and energy applications

“…Therefore, 1D semiconductor nanostructures such as nanowires (NWs), nanorods (NRs), nanopillars, nanocolumns (NCs), and nanotubes (NTs) provide promising potential for the creation of high-performance optoelectronic and electrical devices. 53–56…”

“…Therefore, 1D semiconductor nanostructures such as nanowires (NWs), nanorods (NRs), nanopillars, nanocolumns (NCs), and nanotubes (NTs) provide promising potential for the creation of high-performance optoelectronic and electrical devices. [53][54][55][56] Owing to their use in various applications substantial research has been devoted to the growth of 1D GaN NWs. Traditionally, GaN NWs were grown using MBE or MOCVD.…”

Nonpolar Growth of GaN Films on Polar Sapphire Substrate Using Pulsed Laser Deposition: Investigation of Substrate Temperature Variation on the Quality of Films

“…Hence, epitaxial growth of GaN on low‐cost substrates, for example, sapphire, Si, etc., for its commercial uses is justifiable. To grow epitaxial films of GaN on sapphire conventional methods, for example, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), [ 1 ] metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), [ 8 ] atomic layer deposition (ALD), [ 9 ] metal–organic vapor‐phase epitaxy (MOVPE) [ 10 ] are preferably used due to their due advantages. The use of a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for growing GaN films is also demonstrated, taking its unique capabilities into consideration.…”

Aero-TiO2 Prepared on the Basis of Networks of ZnO Tetrapods

“…A suitable deposition technique should be used for the preparation of TiO 2 aeromaterials on the basis of networks of interconnected ZnO microtetrapods. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an extremely valuable technique for growing conformal ultrathin films with high accuracy on different substrates [42]. It has been shown that ALD coatings provide a high stability to various functional nanostructures, improving their performance for applications in photovoltaics, electrochemical energy storage, photo-and electro-chemical devices, etc.…”