Abstract
The origin of high background electron concentration (n) in In xGa1-xN alloys has been investigated. A shallow donor was identified as having an energy level (ED1) that decreases with x (ED1 = 16 meV at x = 0 and ED 1 = 0 eV at x ∼ 0.5) and that crossover the conduction band at x ∼ 0.5. This shallow donor is believed to be the most probable cause of high n in InGaN. This understanding is consistent with the fact that n increases sharply with an increase in x and becomes constant for x > 0.5. A continuous reduction in n was obtained by increasing the V/III ratio during the epilayer growth, suggesting that nitrogen vacancy-related impurities are a potential cause of the shallow donors and high background electron concentration in InGaN.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 075327 |
Journal | Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics |
Volume | 84 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 15 2011 |