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β-Ga2O3 is an emerging ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor, holding a tremendous potential for power-switching devices for next-generation high power electronics. The performance of such devices strongly relies on the precise control of electrical properties of β-Ga2O3, which can be achieved by implantation of dopant ions. However, a detailed understanding of the impact of ion implantation on the structure of β-Ga2O3 remains elusive. Here, using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, we investigate the nature of structural damage in ion-implanted β-Ga2O3 and its recovery upon heat treatment with the atomic-scale spatial resolution. We reveal that upon Sn ion implantation, Ga2O3 films undergo a phase transformation from the monoclinic β-phase to the defective cubic spinel γ-phase, which contains high-density antiphase boundaries. Using the planar defect models proposed for the γ-Al2O3, which has the same space group as β-Ga2O3, and atomic-resolution microscopy images, we identify that the observed antiphase boundaries are the {100}1/4 ⟨110⟩ type in cubic structure. We show that post-implantation annealing at 1100 °C under the N2 atmosphere effectively recovers the β-phase; however, nano-sized voids retained within the β-phase structure and a γ-phase surface layer are identified as remanent damage. Our results offer an atomic-scale insight into the structural evolution of β-Ga2O3 under ion implantation and high-temperature annealing, which is key to the optimization of semiconductor processing conditions for relevant device design and the theoretical understanding of defect formation and phase stability.
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Atomic scale mechanism of β to γ phase transformation in gallium oxide
We report the detailed mechanism behind the β to γ phase transformation in Sn-doped and Si-implanted Ga2O3 that we determined based on the direct observation of the atomic scale structure using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Quantitative analysis of the STEM images revealed that the high concentration of impurity atoms favored the formation of interstitial–divacancy complexes, which then leads to the secondary relaxation that creates additional interstitial atoms and cation vacancies, resulting in a local structure that closely resembles γ-Ga2O3. We explain the mechanism of how the impurity atoms facilitate the transformation, as well as the detailed sequence of the local γ phase transformation. The findings here offer an insight on how the lattice respond to the external stimuli, such as doping and strain, and transform into different structures, which is important for advancing Ga2O3 but also a variety of low symmetry crystals and oxides with multiple polymorphs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2039380
- PAR ID:
- 10488977
- Publisher / Repository:
- AIP Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Applied Physics Letters
- Volume:
- 122
- Issue:
- 25
- ISSN:
- 0003-6951
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 251602
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0156009
