The structure of crystallographic damage in GaN formed during rare earth ion implantation with and without an ultrathin AlN capping layer

When implanting through a 10 nm AlN cap, the NL threshold goes up to about 3×1016 at/cm2. The AlN cap plays a protective role against the dissociation of the GaN up to the highest fluences. The flat surface after implantation and the absence of SFs in the AlN cap indicate its high resistance to the damage formation.