Microstructural dependence of residual stress in reactively sputtered epitaxial GaN films

Abstract

Epitaxial GaN films were grown on c-sapphire by rf magnetron reactive sputtering of GaAs at different partial pressures of nitrogen in Ar–N2 sputtering atmosphere. High-resolution x-ray diffraction and φ-scans reveal the mosaic growth of c-axis oriented, wurtzite GaN films. The c and a parameters were independently determined to obtain the corresponding in-plane and out-of-plane strain components. Raman measurements confirmed the in-plane strain behavior. The surface morphology and elemental composition of films were studied by atomic force microscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy, respectively. High-resolution ω-2θ, ω, and in-plane φ-rocking curve scans were used to obtain micro-strain, screw and edge dislocation densities, respectively. The films grown at 30%–100% N2 reveal dominance of edge (∼1012 cm−2) over screw (∼1010 cm−2) dislocations, with both approaching similar densities at lower N2 percentages. The strain data has been analyzed to separate the hydrostatic and biaxial contributions and their dependences on N2 percentage. The film grown at 100% N2 displays large hydrostatic strain and micro-strain due to the presence of excess/interstitial nitrogen. The hydrostatic strain and micro-strain decrease substantially with initial decrease of N2 percentage, but increase slightly in the films grown below 30% N2, primarily due to the incorporation of Ar. The films grown below 75% N2 display growth-related intrinsic tensile stress, originating from crystallite coalescence. The stress reversal from tensile to compressive, seen in the films grown at higher N2 percentages is primarily attributed to the incorporation of excess/interstitial nitrogen into grain boundaries and the tensile side of edge dislocations. The decrease of intrinsic tensile stress in the films grown below 30% N2 is attributed to the incorporation of Ar and their voided structure.