The high-quality aluminum nitride (AlN) epilayer is the key factor that directly affects the performance of semiconductor deep-ultraviolet (DUV) photoelectronic devices. In this work, to investigate the influence of thickness on the quality of the AlN epilayer, two AlN-thick epi-film samples were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates. The optical and structural characteristics of AlN films are meticulously examined by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a dual-beam ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). It has been found that the quality of AlN can be controlled by adjusting the AlN film thickness. The phenomenon, in which the thicker AlNn film exhibits lower dislocations than the thinner one, demonstrates that thick AlN epitaxial samples can work as a strain relief layer and, in the meantime, help significantly bend the dislocations and decrease total dislocation density with the thicker epi-film. The Urbach’s binding energy and optical bandgap (E_g) derived by optical transmission (OT) and SE depend on crystallite size, crystalline alignment, and film thickness, which are in good agreement with XRD and SEM results. It is concluded that under the treatment of thickening film, the essence of crystal quality is improved. The bandgap energies of AlN samples obtained from SE possess larger values and higher accuracy than those extracted from OT. The Bose–Einstein relation is used to demonstrate the bandgap variation with temperature, and it is indicated that the thermal stability of bandgap energy can be improved with an increase in film thickness. It is revealed that when the thickness increases to micrometer order, the thickness has little effect on the change of E_g with temperature.

Wide bandgap III-V compounds are the key materials for the fabrication of short-wavelength optical devices and have important applications in optical displays, optical storage devices and optical communication systems. Herein, the variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements are performed to investigate the thickness and optical properties of beryllium-implanted gallium nitride thin films that have been deposited on (0001) sapphire substrates by using low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LPMOCVD). The film layer details are described by using Parametric Semiconductor oscillators and Gaussian oscillators in the wavelength range of 200–1600 nm. The thickness, refractive indices and extinction coefficients of the Be-implanted films are determined at room temperature. Analysis of the absorption coefficient shows that the optical absorption edge of Be-implanted films changes from 3.328 eV to 3.083 eV in the temperature range of 300–850 K. With the variable temperature, E_g is demonstrated to follow the formula of Varshni. A dual-beam ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer (UV–VIS) is used to study the crystal quality of samples, indicating that the quality of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) sample is better than that unannealed sample. By transport of ions in matter (TRIM) simulation and SE fitting the depths of Be implanted gallium nitride (GaN) films are estimated and in good agreement. The surface and cross-section morphologies are characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The surface morphologies and thickness measurements of the samples show that RTA can improve crystal quality, while increasing the thickness of the surface roughness layer due to partial surface decomposition in the process of thermal annealing.

A series of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structures, with an AlN thin buffer, GaN thick layer and Al_0.25Ga_0.75N layer (13–104 nm thick), is prepared by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition and investigated via multiple techniques. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and temperature-dependent measurements and penetrative analyses have achieved significant understanding of these HEMT structures. Bandgaps of AlGaN and GaN are acquired via SE-deduced relationships of refraction index n and extinguish coefficient k vs. wavelength λ in a simple but straightforward way. The optical constants of n and k, and the energy gap E_g of AlGaN layers, are found slightly altered with the variation in AlGaN layer thickness. The Urbach energy E_U at the AlGaN and GaN layers are deduced. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and calculations determined the extremely low screw dislocation density of 1.6 × 10⁸ cm⁻². The top AlGaN layer exhibits a tensile stress influenced by the under beneath GaN and its crystalline quality is improved with the increase in thickness. Comparative photoluminescence (PL) experiments using 266 nm and 325 nm two excitations reveal and confirm the 2DEG within the AlGaN-GaN HEMT structures. DUV (266 nm) excitation Raman scattering and calculations acquired carrier concentrations in compatible AlGaN and GaN layers.

Ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) AlN c- and m-face crystals have been prepared using the physical vapor transport (PVT) method and studied penetratively using temperature-dependent (TD) Raman scattering (RS) measurements under both visible (457 nm) and DUV (266 nm) excitations in 80–870 K, plus correlative atomic force microscopy (AFM) and variable-angle (VA) spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). VASE identified their band gap energy as 6.2 eV, indicating excellent AlN characteristics and revealing Urbach energy levels of about 85 meV. Raman analyses revealed the residual tensile stress. TDRS shows that the E₂(high) phonon lifetime decayed gradually in the 80–600 K range. Temperature has the greater influence on the stress of m-face grown AlN crystal. The influence of low temperature on the E₂(high) phonon lifetime of m-plane AlN crystal is greater than that of the high-temperature region. By way of the LO-phonon and plasma coupling (LOPC), simulations of A₁(LO) modes and carrier concentrations along different faces and depths in AlN crystals are determined. These unique and significant findings provide useful references for the AlN crystal growth and deepen our understanding on the UWBG AlN materials.

AlGaN is attractive for fabricating deep ultraviolet (DUV) optoelectronic and electronic devices of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photodetectors, high-electron-mobility field-effect transistors (HEMTs), etc. We investigated the quality and optical properties of Al_xGa_1−xN films with high Al fractions (60–87%) grown on sapphire substrates, including AlN nucleation and buffer layers, by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). They were initially investigated by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) and Raman scattering (RS). A set of formulas was deduced to precisely determine x(Al) from HR-XRD data. Screw dislocation densities in AlGaN and AlN layers were deduced. DUV (266 nm) excitation RS clearly exhibits AlGaN Raman features far superior to visible RS. The simulation on the AlGaN longitudinal optical (LO) phonon modes determined the carrier concentrations in the AlGaN layers. The spatial correlation model (SCM) analyses on E₂(high) modes examined the AlGaN and AlN layer properties. These high-x(Al) Al_xGa_1−xN films possess large energy gaps E_g in the range of 5.0–5.6 eV and are excited by a DUV 213 nm (5.8 eV) laser for room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TDPL) studies. The obtained RTPL bands were deconvoluted with two Gaussian bands, indicating cross-bandgap emission, phonon replicas, and variation with x(Al). TDPL spectra at 20–300 K of Al_0.87Ga_0.13N exhibit the T-dependences of the band-edge luminescence near 5.6 eV and the phonon replicas. According to the Arrhenius fitting diagram of the TDPL spectra, the activation energy (19.6 meV) associated with the luminescence process is acquired. In addition, the combined PL and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectroscopic system with DUV 213 nm pulse excitation was applied to measure a typical AlGaN multiple-quantum well (MQW). The RT TRPL decay spectra were obtained at four wavelengths and fitted by two exponentials with fast and slow decay times of ~0.2 ns and 1–2 ns, respectively. Comprehensive studies on these Al-rich AlGaN epi-films and a typical AlGaN MQW are achieved with unique and significant results, which are useful to researchers in the field.