Observations of Al segregation around dislocations in AlGaN

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to observe Al segregation around the threading dislocations in Al0.1Ga0.9N and Al0.3Ga0.7N grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on 6H-SiC. Dislocation lines were found to have up to 70% more Al concentration than those regions free of dislocations in the matrix. The Al-depleted regions around the dislocations are shown to be within a few nanometers from the dislocation lines. The results also show that more Al segregate to edge dislocations than to screw ones. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.