GaN on SAM Substrate

In recent years, ScAlMgO4 (short for SAM or SCAM) has attracted increasing interest as a substrate material for nitride semiconductors. Compared with traditional sapphire, silicon, and silicon carbide substrates, the lattice parameter of ScAlMgO4 is a=0.3246 nm, c = 2.5195nm, which makes the grown GaN thin film has a small lattice mismatch (1.4%) and a small difference in thermal expansion coefficient. In addition, SCAM materials are transparent at wavelengths as low as 196nm and have good chemical properties, which can resist corrosion and oxidation, enabling the preparation of durable and stable optoelectronic devices. PAM-XIAMEN provides customized epitaxial services for GaN on SAM substrate, please send your requirements to [email protected], we will give you professional technical support .

1. Study on the Growth of GaN/ScAlMgO4 by MOCVD

A team has studied the method of directly growing single crystal GaN at high temperatures on SAM substrates through metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Researchers have found that pre flowing with trimethylaluminum (TMAl) can suppress island like growth and achieve a uniform mirror Ga polar GaN layer. The pre flow time has a direct impact on the crystal quality of GaN. Experiments have shown that this method can avoid defects caused by low-temperature buffer layers, thereby improving the crystalline quality of GaN thin films. In addition, the study also demonstrated that GaN thin layers grown directly at high temperatures can serve as buffer layers for growing lattice matched In0.17Ga0.83N layers on SAMs, opening up new ways for the preparation of InGaN devices.

2. Significance of Growing GaN on SAM Substrate

The innovative process of using ScAlMgO4 as a GaN epitaxial growth substrate has demonstrated significant advantages. The high adaptability of this material system to the gallium nitride crystal structure effectively alleviates the common problems of lattice mismatch and thermal expansion differences in traditional heteroepitaxy. Compared with conventional sapphire substrates, it can significantly reduce interface stress, thereby obtaining GaN epitaxial films with lower defect density and better crystal quality. This breakthrough not only improves the stability of device operation, but also opens up new paths for miniaturized device design. The physical properties of ScAlMgO4 substrate itself are not only conducive to achieving compact layout of device structure, but also create basic conditions for the development of multifunctional integrated chips due to its excellent lattice integrity.

From the perspective of application prospects, the performance breakthrough of gallium nitride devices prepared based on this substrate is particularly outstanding in extreme working environments: its high temperature resistance can meet the stringent requirements of aerospace engine monitoring systems, its high-frequency response advantages are demonstrated in millimeter wave radar and communication systems, and its excellent power processing capability provides technical support for the upgrading of new energy vehicle electric drive systems and smart grid equipment. More importantly, the successful development of this material system has provided a new experimental platform for wide bandgap semiconductor research, which will accelerate the scientific research process in key areas such as new device architecture design, defect control technology, and interface engineering. It has strategic significance for promoting the industrial application of GaN.

 

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