O-polar ZnO Research Articles

Control of polarity of heteroepitaxial ZnO films by interface engineering

Control of polarity of heteroepitaxial ZnO films has been examined by interface engineering. ZnO films were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Ga-polar GaN template and c-plane sapphire substrates. Polarity of all the samples is determined by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy. Zn- and O-polar ZnO films have successfully grown by Zn- and O-plasma pre-exposures on Ga-polar GaN templates prior to ZnO growth. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed formation of a single-crystalline monoclinic Ga 2O 3 interface layer by O-plasma pre-exposure on Ga-polar GaN templates, while no interface layer was observed for Zn pre-exposed ZnO films. The polarity of ZnO films grown under oxygen ambient on c-plane sapphire with MgO buffer is revealed as O-polar. Fabrication of polarity inverted ZnO heterostructure has been studied: polarity of ZnO films on Ga-polar GaN templates was changed from Zn-polar to O-polar by inserting a MgO layer. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed atomically flat interfaces at both lower and upper ZnO/MgO interfaces and no inversion domain boundaries were detected in the upper ZnO layer.

ZnO epilayers on GaN templates: Polarity control and valence-band offset

We report on the growth of polarity-controlled ZnO epilayers by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy and the measurement of valence-band offset at the ZnO/GaN heterointerface. The polarity of ZnO epilayers is determined by coaxial-impact-collision ion-scattering spectroscopy. The band offset is determined by ultraviolet and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study reveals the formation of an interface layer between the ZnO and GaN epilayers in O-plasma preexposed samples, while no interface layer is formed in Zn preexposed samples. Zn preexposure prior to ZnO growth results in Zn-polar ZnO epilayers (Zn face), while O-plasma preexposure leads to the growth of O-polar ZnO epilayers (O face). The interface layer is identified to be single-crystalline, monoclinic Ga2O3. The estimated valence band offset at the ZnO/GaN(0001) heterojunction with Zn preexposure is 0.8 eV with a type-II band alignment.

ZnO and related materials: Plasma-Assisted molecular beam epitaxial growth, characterization and application

This paper will address features of plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxial growth of ZnO and related materials and their characteristics. Two-dimensional, layer-by-layer growth is achieved both on c-plane sampphire by employing MgO buffer layer growth and on (0001) GaN/Al2O3 template by predepositing a low-temperature buffer layer followed by high-temperature annealing. Such two-dimensional growth results in the growth of high-quality heteroepitaxial ZnO epilayers. Biexciton emission is obtained from such high quality epilayers The polarity of heteroepitaxial ZnO epilayers is controlled by engineering the heterointerfaces. We achieved selective growth of Zn-polar and O-polar ZnO heteroepitaxial layers. The origin of different polarities can be successfully explained by an interface bonding sequence model. N-type conductivity in Gadoped ZnO epilayers is successfully controlled. High conductivity, enough to be applicable to devices, is achieved. MgxZn1-xO/ZnO heterostructures are grown and emission from a ZnO quantum well is observed. Mg incorporation in a MgZnO alloy is determined by in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction intensity oscillations, which enables precise control of the composition. Homoepitaxy on commericial ZnO substrates has been examined. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction intensity oscillations during homoepitaxy growth are observed.

Control of polarity of ZnO films grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy: Zn- and O-polar ZnO films on Ga-polar GaN templates

We report on the growth of polarity-controlled ZnO films by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy. Different polar (Zn- and O-polar) ZnO films on unipolar (Ga-polar) GaN epilayers are selectively grown. Polarity of ZnO films is evaluated by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy. Zn preexposure prior to ZnO growth results in Zn-polar ZnO films (Zn face), while O-plasma preexposure leads to the growth of O-polar ZnO films (O face). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals the formation of an interface layer between ZnO and GaN epilayers in O-plasma preexposed samples, while no interface layer is observed in Zn preexposed samples. The interface layer is identified as single crystalline, monoclinic Ga2O3. We propose models for interface configurations at ZnO/GaN heterointerfaces, which can successfully explain the different polarities of the ZnO films.