Combinatorial synthesis and characterization of thin film Al1-xRExN (RE = Pr3+, Tb3+) heterostructural alloys

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paudel, Binod, Mangum, John S., Rom, Christopher L., Egbo, Kingsley, Lee, Cheng-Wei, Guthrey, Harvey, Allen, Sean, Haegel, Nancy M., Yazawa, Keisuke, Brennecka, Geoff L., Smaha, Rebecca W.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866913468606578688
author Paudel, Binod
Mangum, John S.
Rom, Christopher L.
Egbo, Kingsley
Lee, Cheng-Wei
Guthrey, Harvey
Allen, Sean
Haegel, Nancy M.
Yazawa, Keisuke
Brennecka, Geoff L.
Smaha, Rebecca W.
author_facet Paudel, Binod
Mangum, John S.
Rom, Christopher L.
Egbo, Kingsley
Lee, Cheng-Wei
Guthrey, Harvey
Allen, Sean
Haegel, Nancy M.
Yazawa, Keisuke
Brennecka, Geoff L.
Smaha, Rebecca W.
contents The potential impact of cation-substituted AlN-based materials, such as Al1-xScxN, Al1-xGaxN, and Al1-xBxN, with exceptional electronic, electromechanical, and dielectric properties has spurred research into this broad family of materials. Rare earth (RE) cations are particularly appealing as they could additionally impart optoelectronic or magnetic functionality. However, success in incorporating a significant level of RE cations into AlN has been limited so far because it is thermodynamically challenging to stabilize such heterostructural alloys. Using combinatorial co-sputtering, we synthesized Al1-xRExN (RE = Pr, Tb) thin films and performed a rapid survey of the composition-structure-property relationships as a function of RE alloying. Under our growth conditions, we observe that Al1-xPrxN maintains a phase-pure wurtzite structure until transitioning to amorphous for x>0.22. Al1-xTbxN exhibits a phase-pure wurtzite structure until x<0.15, then exhibits mixed wurtzite and rocksalt phases for 0.16<x<0.28, and finally becomes amorphous beyond that. Ellipsometry measurements reveal that the absorption onset decreases with increasing rare earth incorporation and has a strong dependence on the phases present. We observe the characteristic cathodoluminescence emission of Pr3+ and Tb3+, respectively. Using this synthesis approach, we have demonstrated incorporation of Pr and Tb into the AlN wurtzite structure up to higher compositions levels than previously reported and made the first measurements of corresponding structural and optoelectronic properties.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_07848
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Combinatorial synthesis and characterization of thin film Al1-xRExN (RE = Pr3+, Tb3+) heterostructural alloys
Paudel, Binod
Mangum, John S.
Rom, Christopher L.
Egbo, Kingsley
Lee, Cheng-Wei
Guthrey, Harvey
Allen, Sean
Haegel, Nancy M.
Yazawa, Keisuke
Brennecka, Geoff L.
Smaha, Rebecca W.
Materials Science
The potential impact of cation-substituted AlN-based materials, such as Al1-xScxN, Al1-xGaxN, and Al1-xBxN, with exceptional electronic, electromechanical, and dielectric properties has spurred research into this broad family of materials. Rare earth (RE) cations are particularly appealing as they could additionally impart optoelectronic or magnetic functionality. However, success in incorporating a significant level of RE cations into AlN has been limited so far because it is thermodynamically challenging to stabilize such heterostructural alloys. Using combinatorial co-sputtering, we synthesized Al1-xRExN (RE = Pr, Tb) thin films and performed a rapid survey of the composition-structure-property relationships as a function of RE alloying. Under our growth conditions, we observe that Al1-xPrxN maintains a phase-pure wurtzite structure until transitioning to amorphous for x>0.22. Al1-xTbxN exhibits a phase-pure wurtzite structure until x<0.15, then exhibits mixed wurtzite and rocksalt phases for 0.16<x<0.28, and finally becomes amorphous beyond that. Ellipsometry measurements reveal that the absorption onset decreases with increasing rare earth incorporation and has a strong dependence on the phases present. We observe the characteristic cathodoluminescence emission of Pr3+ and Tb3+, respectively. Using this synthesis approach, we have demonstrated incorporation of Pr and Tb into the AlN wurtzite structure up to higher compositions levels than previously reported and made the first measurements of corresponding structural and optoelectronic properties.
title Combinatorial synthesis and characterization of thin film Al1-xRExN (RE = Pr3+, Tb3+) heterostructural alloys
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.07848