Investigation of blue luminescence in Mg doped AlN films

The Al1−xMgxN thin films were deposited on (1 0 0) silicon substrates by magnetron sputtering. The structural and photoluminescence properties of the films with varying Mg concentrations were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectra and photoluminescence (PL), respectively. The results clearly showed that the Mg atoms successfully incorporated into AlN, while the crystal structure of the films was maintained. The Raman spectra of Al1−xMgxN films reveals the enhancement of A1 (TO) mode, a slightly blue-shift and an augment in FWHM for E2 (high) phonon mode with increasing Mg content, which can be associated with the deterioration of (0 0 2) orientation and the appearance of (1 0 0) orientation. A broad blue band centered at 420 nm and 440 nm was observed in Mg-doped AlN films. It was suggested that the transitions from the shallow donor level not only to the ground state but also to the excited states of the deep level was responsible for the broad blue emission band. This work indicates the AlN film for the application in lighting emission devices.