Optical and electronic properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3/Al2O3 (x>0.4) films grown by magnetron sputtering
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-25-2021
Abstract
Systematic investigations of the optical and electronic properties are reported for ultrathin (AlxGa1−x)2O3/Al2O3 films with higher Al contents x (>0.4) prepared by magnetron sputtering method. The X-ray diffraction results revealed the films were preferentially oriented in the direction of β-Ga2O3 (2̅01) family and their crystalline qualities improved if prepared at higher sputtering power. From the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data, the Al content x in the four (AlxGa1−x)2O3 samples are found to be 0.72, 0.67, 0.62 and 0.42, respectively. The composition dependent energy bandgaps Eg (6.47 eV, 6.34 eV, 6.02 eV, 5.61 eV) observed by optical transmission and XPS measurements are examined theoretically. From the atomic ratios of (Al+Ga)/O and the observed photoluminescence features we suggest the possibility of large number of defects and/or vacancies. With higher Al contents, the Fermi level shifts towards the valence band and the work function increases. While lowering the sputtering power is helpful in preparing thin (AlxGa1−x)2O3 films with higher x – it is certainly not favorable for improving their crystalline quality and conductivity.
Publication Title
Journal of Alloys and Compounds
Volume
864
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.158765
ISSN
09258388
Citation Information
Hu, Li, S., Hu, Y., Wan, L., Jiao, S., Hu, W., Talwar, D. N., Feng, Z. C., Li, T., Xu, J., Wei, L., & Guo, W. (2021). Optical and electronic properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3/Al2O3 (x>0.4) films grown by magnetron sputtering. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 864, 158765–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.158765