Effect of target–substrate distance on the quality of AlN films grown on Si(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition

•High-quality AlN films have been epitaxially grown on Si(110) substrates by PLD.•Target–substrate distance dependence of the properties of AlN films has been studied.•Abrupt AlN/Si(110) interfaces achieved in this work are of great importance.

sEffect of target–substrate distance on the quality of AlN films grown on Si(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is carefully studied. It is found that the quality of AlN films is firstly improved and then is deteriorated as the target–substrate distance increases from 5 to 10 cm, and we find that 8 cm is the appropriate target–substrate distance for achieving high-quality AlN films on Si(110) substrates by PLD. The as-grown ~400 nm-thick AlN films show flat surface with a root-mean-square surface roughness of 1.8 nm. Meanwhile, there is no interfacial layer existing in the AlN/Si(110) interface. This work is paramount importance for the fabrication of AlN-based devices on Si(110) substrates by PLD.