Electron microscopy analysis of microstructure of postannealed aluminum nitride template

• Main Authors: Kaur, J., Kuwano, N., Jamaludin, K. R., Mitsuhara, M., Saito, H., Hata, S., Suzuki, S., Miyake, H., Hiramatsu, K., Fukuyama, H.
• Format: Article
• Published: Japan Society of Applied Physics 2016
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/71617/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84973454810&doi=10.7567%2fAPEX.9.065502&partnerID=40&md5=56c20b61c46154e7ae2e411768a0a731

The microstructure of an AlN template after high-temperature annealing was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The AlN template was prepared by depositing an AlN layer of about 200nm thickness on a sapphire (0001) substrate by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The AlN template was annealed under (N2 + CO) atmosphere at 1500-1650 °C. TEM characterization was conducted to investigate the microstructural evolution, revealing that the postannealed AlN has a two-layer structure, the upper and lower layers of which exhibit Al and N polarities, respectively. It has been confirmed that postannealing is an effective treatment for controlling the microstructure.