Optical study of implantation damage recovery from Si-implanted GaN

Comprehensive and systematic optical activation studies of Si-implanted GaN grown on sapphire substrates have been made as a function of ion dose and anneal temperature. Silicon ions were implanted at 200 keV with doses ranging from 1×1013 to 5×1015 cm−2 at room temperature. The samples were proximity cap annealed from 1250 to 1350 °C with a 500-Å-thick AlN cap in a nitrogen environment. The results of photoluminescence measurements made at 3 K show a very sharp neutral-donor-bound exciton peak along with a sharp donor–acceptor pair peak after annealing at 1350 °C for 20 s, indicating excellent implantation damage recovery. The results also indicate the AlN cap protected the implanted GaN layer very well during high temperature annealing without creating any significant anneal-induced damage. This observation is consistent with the electrical activation results for these samples.