Lattice damage in InGaN induced by swift heavy ion irradiation

Abstract

The microstructural responses of In0.32Ga0.68N and In0.9Ga0.1N films to 2.25 GeV Xe ion irradiation have been investigated using x-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, ion channeling and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the In-rich In0.9Ga0.1N is more susceptible to irradiation than the Ga-rich In0.32Ga0.68N. Xe ion irradiation with a fluence of 7 × 1011 ions⋅cm−2 leads to little damage in In0.32Ga0.68N but an obvious lattice expansion in In0.9Ga0.1N. The level of lattice disorder in In0.9Ga0.1N increases after irradiation, due to the huge electronic energy deposition of the incident Xe ions. However, no Xe ion tracks were observed to be formed, which is attributed to the very high velocity of 2.25 GeV Xe ions. Point defects and/or small defect clusters are probably the dominant defect type in Xe-irradiated In0.9Ga0.1N.