Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Boson Peak Related to Ga Nanoclusters in AlGaN Layers Grown by Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy at Ga-Rich Conditions. / Davydov, V. Yu; Jmerik, V. N.; Roginskii, E. M.; Kitaev, Yu E.; Beltukov, Y. M.; Smirnov, M. B.; Nechaev, D. V.; Smirnov, A. N.; Eliseyev, I. A.; Brunkov, P. N.; Ivanov, S. V.
In: Semiconductors, Vol. 53, No. 11, 01.11.2019, p. 1479-1488.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Boson Peak Related to Ga Nanoclusters in AlGaN Layers Grown by Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy at Ga-Rich Conditions
AU - Davydov, V. Yu
AU - Jmerik, V. N.
AU - Roginskii, E. M.
AU - Kitaev, Yu E.
AU - Beltukov, Y. M.
AU - Smirnov, M. B.
AU - Nechaev, D. V.
AU - Smirnov, A. N.
AU - Eliseyev, I. A.
AU - Brunkov, P. N.
AU - Ivanov, S. V.
N1 - Funding Information: The authors are thankful to R.A. Suris and V.I. Kozub for the fruitful discussions and valuable comments. The work was supported in part by Russian Science Foundation (project no. 19-72-30040) for Raman spectroscopy studies and theoretical analysis. Publisher Copyright: © 2019, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - Abstract: We report the results of systematic Raman spectroscopy studies of AlxGa1 – xN (x ~ 0.75) layers grown using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy at various stoichiometric conditions and growth fluxes. The high-intensity asymmetric low-frequency peak obeying Bose statistics is discovered in Raman spectra of the layers grown by temperature-modulated epitaxy at strongly Ga-enriched conditions. Theoretical model is developed to explain the origin and the high intensity of the observed low-frequency peak, which is attributed to the presence of excessive metallic gallium in AlGaN layers and can be explained by vibrations of gallium clusters with a diameter of ~1 nm. The nature of the low-frequency peak is similar to that of the boson peak in glasses, which occupies the same frequency range in Raman spectra. We demonstrate the capabilities of Raman spectroscopy as an express and non-destructive technique for optimization of growth conditions of AlGaN layers to achieve simultaneously the atomically-smooth droplet-free surface morphology and the high structural quality.
AB - Abstract: We report the results of systematic Raman spectroscopy studies of AlxGa1 – xN (x ~ 0.75) layers grown using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy at various stoichiometric conditions and growth fluxes. The high-intensity asymmetric low-frequency peak obeying Bose statistics is discovered in Raman spectra of the layers grown by temperature-modulated epitaxy at strongly Ga-enriched conditions. Theoretical model is developed to explain the origin and the high intensity of the observed low-frequency peak, which is attributed to the presence of excessive metallic gallium in AlGaN layers and can be explained by vibrations of gallium clusters with a diameter of ~1 nm. The nature of the low-frequency peak is similar to that of the boson peak in glasses, which occupies the same frequency range in Raman spectra. We demonstrate the capabilities of Raman spectroscopy as an express and non-destructive technique for optimization of growth conditions of AlGaN layers to achieve simultaneously the atomically-smooth droplet-free surface morphology and the high structural quality.
KW - AlGaN alloys
KW - boson peak
KW - nanoclusters
KW - plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy
KW - Raman spectroscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074786628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1134/S1063782619110058
DO - 10.1134/S1063782619110058
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85074786628
VL - 53
SP - 1479
EP - 1488
JO - Semiconductors
JF - Semiconductors
SN - 1063-7826
IS - 11
ER -
ID: 73026934