Shallow donor and DX states of Si in AlN

Abstract

In unintentionally Si-doped AlN, the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of the Si shallow donor (g=1.9905) was observed in darkness at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the EPR signal suggests that Si in AlN is a DX center with the DX− state lying at ∼78 meV below the neutral shallow donor state. With such relatively small thermal activation energy, Si is expected to behave as a shallow dopant in AlN at normal device operating temperatures.