The dependence of GaN growth rate on electron temperature in an ECR plasma

Experiments on the deposition of GaN thin films were carried out in an ECR plasma reactor using nitrogen gas and trimethylgallium (TMG) as precursors. Electron temperature and nitrogen species adjacent to the substrate surface during deposition were measured by a CCD spectrometer. We observed an optimum electron temperature for the growth rate. The result suggests that tuning of electron energy (or temperature) can be used to optimize the deposition and electron temperature near the substrate surface may be a candidate for one of the control parameters in plasma-assisted CVD.