Effects of growth temperature on the incorporation of nitrogen in GaNAs layers

Ternary III-N-V semiconductor alloys are interesting and complex materials. GaNAs is one such material that has been studied extensively; however, the accurate determination of the N content within this material in which the growth conditions significantly increases the amount of interstitial N has not yet been reported. To address this problem, GaNAs layers (100 nm) were prepared using molecular beam epitaxy at temperatures between 400 and 600 °C with a high nominal N concentration (3%). The N content was determined using high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL). The N concentration determined using these techniques was compared. Additionally, the relationship between the growth temperature and N concentration is discussed. The incorporation of N into interstitial sites resulted in significant variations in the N content as estimated by SIMS, HRXRD, and PL.