Growth of high Mg content wurtzite MgZnO epitaxial films via pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition

We report on the growth of high Mg content, high quality, wurtzite MgxZn1−xO (MgZnO) epitaxial films using a pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition (PMOCVD) method. Series of MgZnO films with variable Mg concentration were deposited on bare and AlN coated sapphire substrates. The band gap of the films estimated using UV-visible transmission spectra ranges from 3.24 eV to 4.49 eV, corresponding to fraction of Mg between x=0.0 and x=0.51, as determined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The cathodoluminescence (CL) measurement has shown a blue-shift in the peak position of MgZnO with an increasing Mg content. No multi-absorption edges and CL band splitting were observed, suggesting the absence of phase segregation in the as grown films. The crystal structure and phase purity of the films were also confirmed by XRD analysis. Hall effect measurement in van der Pauw configuration was employed to evaluate the electrical properties of the films. With a rise in Mg incorporation into the ZnO lattice, the films became very resistive, consistent with the widening of the band gap. The AFM measurement on the films has shown a decreasing surface roughness with an Mg content. To the best of our knowledge, the current result shows the highest Mg content (x=0.51), high quality, wurtzite MgZnO epitaxial film ever grown by MOCVD. The high Mg incorporation without phase separation is believed to be due to the non-equilibrium behavior of the PMOCVD in which the kinetic processes dominate the thermodynamic one.