Middle-frequency magnetron sputtering for GaN growth

A middle-frequency magnetron sputtering system was designed and constructed for GaN growth, in which a pair of back cooled pool-shaped twin magnetrons were used for Ga metal targets. GaN films were prepared using this system under various gas pressure (0.5–3.0 Pa) in a mixture of N2 and Ar with N2/Ar ratio of 6:1. X-ray diffraction showed that the GaN films had a strong (0 0 0 2) orientation, and the film deposited at 1.5 Pa had two more weak peaks attributed to (101¯2) and (101¯3). The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (0 0 0 2) peak for the GaN film deposited at 1.5 Pa and 0.5 Pa is ∼721 and ∼986 arcsec, respectively. The deposition rate was in the range of 43.5–87.8 nm/min and was mainly influenced by the deposition pressure. The films deposited at higher pressures are columnar in structure. A root-mean-square roughness of 4.4 nm was obtained from the atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface morphology of the film deposited at 0.5 Pa.