Ion-beam-induced reconstruction of amorphous GaN

S. O. Kucheyev, J. S. Williams, J. Zou, J. E. Bradby, C. Jagadish, G. Li

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    17 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Wurtzite GaN can be rendered amorphous by high-dose heavy-ion bombardment. We show here that relatively low-dose reirradiation of such amorphous GaN (a-GaN) with MeV light ions can significantly change some of the physical properties of a-GaN. In particular, light-ion reirradiation of a-GaN results in (i) an increase in material density, (ii) the suppression of complete decomposition during postimplantation annealing, (iii) a significant increase in the values of hardness and Young’s modulus, and (iv) an apparent decrease in the absorption of visible light. Transmission electron microscopy shows that a-GaN remains completely amorphous after light-ion reirradiation. Therefore, we attribute the above effects of light-ion reirradiation to an ion-beam-induced atomic-level reconstruction of the amorphous phase. Results indicate that electronic energy loss of light ions is responsible for the changes in the mechanical properties and for the suppression of thermally induced decomposition of a-GaN. However, the changes in the density of a-GaN appear to be controlled by the nuclear energy loss of light ions.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
    Volume63
    Issue number11
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2001

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Ion-beam-induced reconstruction of amorphous GaN'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this