Synthesis and characterization of GaN thin films deposited on different substrates using a low-cost electrochemical deposition technique

Abstract

Gallium nitride GaN thin films were deposited on three different substrates; Si (111), Si (100) and ITO coated glass using electrochemical deposition technique at 20 °C. A mixture of gallium nitrate, ammonium nitrate was used as electrolyte. The deposited films were investigated at room temperature by a series of material characterization techniques, namely; scanning electron microscopy (SEM), EDX and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM images and EDX results indicated that the growth of GaN films varies according to the substrates. XRD analyses showed the presence of hexagonal wurtzite and cubic zinc blende GaN phases with the crystallite size around 18-29 nm.