Microstructure and Interfaces of Ultra-Thin Epitaxial AlN Films Grown by Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition at Relatively Low Temperatures

We demonstrate the growth of ultra-thin AlN films on Si (111) and on a GaN/sapphire (0001) substrate using atomic layer epitaxy in the temperature range of 360 to 420 °C. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the interfaces, fine scale microstructure, and the crystalline quality of thin films. Films were deposited epitaxily on Si (111) with a hexagonal structure, while on the GaN/sapphire (0001) substrate, the AlN film is epitaxial and has been deposited in a metastable zinc-blende cubic phase. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the interface is not sharp, containing an intermixing layer with cubic AlN. We show that the substrate, particularly the strain, plays a major role in dictating the crystal structure of AlN. The strain, estimated in the observed orientation relation, is significantly lower for cubic AlN on hexagonal GaN as compared to the hexagonal AlN on hexagonal GaN. On the Si (111) substrate, on the other hand, the strain in the observed orientation relation is 0.8% for hexagonal AlN, which is substantially lower than the strain estimated for the cubic AlN on Si(111).