Growth kinetics for temperature-controlled atomic layer deposition of GaN using trimethylgallium and remote-plasma-excited NH3

Fundamental surface reactions in the atomic layer deposition of GaN with trimethylgallium (TMG) and plasma-excited NH3 are investigated by multiple-internal-reflection infrared absorption spectroscopy (MIR-IRAS) at surface temperatures varying from room temperature (RT) to 400 °C. It is found that TMG is saturated at RT on GaN surfaces when the TMG exposure exceeds 8 × 104 Langmuir (L), where 1 L corresponds to 1.33 × 10−4 Pa s (or 1.0 × 10−6 Torr s), and its saturation density reaches the maximum value at RT. Nitridation with the plasma-excited NH3 on the TMG-saturated GaN surface is investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The nitridation becomes effective at surface temperatures in excess of 100 °C. The reaction models of TMG adsorption and nitridation on the GaN surface are proposed in this paper. Based on the surface analysis, a temperature-controlled ALD process consisting of RT-TMG adsorption and nitridation at 115 °C is examined, where the growth per cycle of 0.045 nm/cycle is confirmed. XPS analysis indicates that all N atoms are bonded as GaN. Atomic force microscopy indicates an average roughness of 0.23 nm. We discuss the reaction mechanism of GaN ALD in the low-temperature region at around 115 °C with TMG and plasma-excited NH3.