Condensed phase equilibria in the Cr-Ga-N system

An isothermal section of the Cr-Ga-N phase diagram at 800 °C has been experimentally determined in order to better understand the metallurgy of Cr-containing electrical contacts to the wide band gap semiconductor GaN. The cubic phase CrN with the NaCl structure and liquid Ga are the only condensed phases in thermodynamic equilibrium with GaN at this temperature. Two chromium gallides (Cr3Ga, CrGa), another chromium nitride (Cr2N), and two ternary phases (Cr3GaN, Cr2GaN) were also observed in this study.