Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1686089 Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 2011 4 Pages PDF
Abstract

Wurtzite GaN epilayers irradiated at room temperature with 308 MeV 129Xe35+ ions to fluences of 1 × 1013 and 3 × 1013 cm−2 have been studied by contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), micro-Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The AFM images showed that the surface of GaN films was etched efficiently due to the Xe ion irradiation. The initial step-terrace structure on GaN surface was eliminated completely at a fluence of 3 × 1013 cm−2. HRXRD and Raman results indicated that the Xe ion irradiation led to a homogenous lattice expansion throughout the entire ∼3 μm-thick GaN films. The lattice expansion as well as the biaxial compressive stress of the films was increasing with the increase of ion fluence. PL measurements showed that a dominant yellow luminescence band in the as-grown GaN films disappeared, but a blue and a green luminescence bands were produced after irradiation. Based on these results, the strong electronic excitation effect of 308 MeV Xe ions in GaN is discussed.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Surfaces, Coatings and Films
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