Epitaxial growth of 2 inch diameter homogeneous AlN single-crystalline films by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

2 inch diameter homogeneous AlN films are epitaxially grown on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). By optimizing laser rastering and PLD growth conditions, the 2 inch diameter single-crystalline AlN films exhibit excellent thickness uniformity with root-mean-square (RMS) inhomogeneity less than 4.5% and very smooth surface with RMS roughness less than 1.53 nm. There is a maximum of 1.5 nm thick interfacial layer, if there is any, existing between the as-grown AlN and the pre-nitrided sapphire substrate, and the as-grown AlN films are almost fully relaxed only with a 0.26% in-plane compressive strain. The achievement of high-quality large-scale AlN films with uniform thickness and atomically abrupt interface is of great interest for the commercial development of AlN-based devices, particularly acoustic filters where abrupt heterointerfaces with substrates and flat surfaces for AlN films are highly desired.