Chapter 7 - Ion implantation, isolation and thermal processing of GaN and related materials

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the introduction and review of the state of ion implantation in GaN and related III–V materials. It also reviews the implantation induced damage, the defect annealing and discusses the realization of the controlled n-type and p-type doping by ion implantation with the main emphasis on the results of GaN. Furthermore, it discusses the impurity luminescence and isolation by ion implantation. Ion implantation is a highly developed tool for modifying the structure and properties of semiconductors. The energetic implants are applied in the doping of semiconductor material, the formation of insulator regions to isolate the active regions of circuits, in the fabrication of optical active regions, and also in the device application. Some of the advantages of the ion implantation are as follows: It is insensitive to the lattice structure, lattice defects, and the presence of impurities, and an accurate dose control by the measurement of the ion current is possible. In contrast to the high temperature processing, the ion implantation is an intrinsic low temperature process with subsequent annealing almost necessary.