The influence of thickness and ammonia flow rate on the properties of AlN layers

Undoped AlN layers have been grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition in order to study the effects of ammonia (NH3) flow rate and layer thickness on the structural quality and surface morphology of AlN layers by high-resolution X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Lower NH3 flow rate improves crystallinity of the symmetric (0 0 0 2) plane in AlN layers. Ammonia flow rate is also correlated with surface quality; pit-free and smooth AlN surfaces have been obtained at a flow rate of 70 standard cm(3) per minute. Thicker AlN films improve the crystallinity of the asymmetric (1 0 1 (1) over bar 2) plane. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.