Removal of 6H-SiC substrate influence when evaluating GaN thin film properties via x-ray

Abstract

AbstractNon-uniformity in GaN thin films deposited on 6H-SiC can make determining the effects of growth variables difficult. Results presented in this work show the effects of the SiC substrates on the GaN films, and how to correct for these effects to obtain meaningful data about the properties of the thin film rather than the substrate underneath. Rocking curve values of GaN thin films are found to track almost 1:1 with the values of the underlying SiC. Plotting rocking curves with respect to the substrate, as well as a variable of importance can therefore yield more meaningful and reliable comparisons instead of plotting the data for the variable alone. This procedure is used to demonstrate the effects of thickness and AlN and AlGaN buffer layers on GaN thin films.