LETTER | APRIL 11 2023

Effect of substrate rotation speed on AlGaN nanowire deep

ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by molecular beam epitaxy

Mohammad Fazel Vafadar ; Rezoana Bente Arif ; Qihua Zhang ; Songrui Zhao 

Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B 41, 030601 (2023)

https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0002494

CrossMark

 
View Export
Online Citation

Downloaded from http://pubs.aip.org/avs/jvb/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/6.0002494/16827133/030601_1_6.0002494.pdf

 LETTER avs.scitation.org/journal/jvb

Effect of substrate rotation speed on AlGaN

nanowire deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by
molecular beam epitaxy
Cite as: J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41, 030601 (2023); doi: 10.1116/6.0002494
Submitted: 16 January 2023 · Accepted: 15 March 2023 · View Online Export Citation CrossMark
Published Online: 11 April 2023

Mohammad Fazel Vafadar, Rezoana Bente Arif, Qihua Zhang, and Songrui Zhaoa)

AFFILIATIONS

Downloaded from http://pubs.aip.org/avs/jvb/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/6.0002494/16827133/030601_1_6.0002494.pdf

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal,
Quebec H3A 0E9, Canada

a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: songrui.zhao@mcgil.ca

ABSTRACT
Aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have become an emerging platform for semiconductor
deep ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Despite of the progress, much less attention has been paid to the effect of substrate rota-
tion speed on the device performance. Herein, we investigate the effect of the substrate rotation speed on the nanowire height and diameter
uniformity, as well as the electrical and optical performance of MBE-grown AlGaN nanowire deep UV LED structures with low and high
substrate rotation speeds. It is found that by increasing the substrate rotation speed from 4 revolutions per minute (rpm) to 15 rpm, the stat-
istical variation of the nanowire height and diameter is reduced significantly. Increasing the substrate rotation speed also improves the
device electrical performance, with a factor of 4 reduction on the device series resistance. This improved electrical performance further
transfers to the improved optical performance. The underlying mechanisms for these improvements are also discussed.

Published under an exclusive license by the AVS. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0002494

I. INTRODUCTION investigated.14–21 Compared to planar structures, AlGaN NWs offer

Deep UV light sources including LEDs and lasers have
become demanding due to their wide range of applications includ-
ing food sterilization, wastewater treatment, air purification, photo-
ionization, medical care, and so on. In this context, semiconductor
AlGaN deep UV light sources have been intensively studied in the
past few years due to their excellent physical, chemical, and
mechanical properties, such as ultrawide, direct, and tunable band
gap energies, that can allow light emission down to close to
200 nm.1–13 Moreover, they are environment-friendly due to the
use of nonhazardous chemicals. Nevertheless, despite of intensive
efforts in the development of AlGaN-based planar deep UV LEDs
and lasers, a number of critical challenges have remained, such as
large threading dislocation and defect densities in the AlGaN epi-
taxial layer, poor p-type doping, low light extraction efficiency due
to light polarization, and local heating under high current injection,
e.g., Refs. 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, and 13.
In recent years, as an alternative route to semiconductor deep
UV LEDs and lasers, AlGaN nanowires (NWs) have been
several advantages. Due to the effective lateral stress relaxation,
nearly defect-free AlGaN NWs can be grown on various substrates
including silicon (Si), metal, graphene, and so on.22,23 More impor-
tantly, AlGaN NWs are promising to significantly improve p-type
conduction due to the drastic enhancement of magnesium
(Mg)-dopants incorporation in NW structures.24–26 In addition,
owing to the multiple scattering effect and the large
surface-to-volume ratio in NW structures, the emitted light can
escape relatively easily compared to planar structures, in particular,
for TM polarized light.27–29 Several studies have shown, both exper-
imentally and theoretically, the advantages of utilizing AlGaN NW
structures in deep UV LEDs and lasers, such as the demonstration
of electrically injected deep UV lasing down to 239 nm, which is
still challenging for planar structures.30–32
Plasma-assisted (PA) MBE is one of the major driving tech-
niques for AlGaN NW deep UV light-emitting device development,
such as UV lasers aforementioned. In general, by properly control-
ling the growth parameters, such as the substrate temperature, the
nitrogen (N) flow rate, and metal (Ga and Al) fluxes, highly dense

J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41(3) May/Jun 2023; doi: 10.1116/6.0002494 41, 030601-1
Published under an exclusive license by the AVS

and relatively uniform AlGaN NWs can be formed without any
substrate patterning. As such, although the substrate patterning can
lead to highly uniform AlGaN NWs, it is still meaningful to opti-
mize growth conditions for self-organized AlGaN NWs due to the
low substrate preparation cost.33–36
Compared to parameters such as the substrate temperature
and metal fluxes, much less attention has been paid to the substrate
rotation speed during the growth of AlGaN NWs, e.g., Refs. 37–39.
Therefore, to further improve the device performance of AlGaN
NW deep UV LEDs, elucidating the effect of substrate rotation is
necessary. In this study, we investigate the effect of the substrate
rotation speed on the nanowire height and diameter uniformity of
AlGaN NWs and further the electrical and optical performance of
AlGaN NW deep UV LEDs. It is found that the height and diame-
ter variations of AlGaN NWs are drastically reduced using a rela-
tively high substrate rotation speed (15 rpm) compared to using a
low substrate rotation speed (4 rpm). The electrical and optical per-
formances of AlGaN NW deep UV LEDs are also improved. This
study will further help the development of AlGaN NW-based semi-
conductor deep UV LEDs and lasers.
II. EXPERIMENT
Experimentally, the device structures were grown on n-Si
(111) substrates by PA-MBE (model: Veeco GENxplor) in N-rich
conditions. Figure 1(a) shows the schematic of the layer-by-layer
structure of an individual NW that constitutes the large area
AlGaN NW deep UV LEDs, including an n-GaN seed layer, fol-
lowed by p–i–n AlGaN homojunction, and a very thin p-GaN
contact layer. As the purpose is to evaluate the effect of substrate
rotation speed, simple p–i–n AlGaN homojunction structures were
used. The growth parameters included a nitrogen flow rate of
0.9 SCCM, a substrate temperature of 725 °C for the n-GaN layer,
845 °C for the AlGaN homojunction, and 750 °C for the p-GaN
contact layer, as well as a Ga flux of 4 × 10−8 Torr and an Al flux of
2 × 10−8 Torr. The substrate temperature was calibrated by Si (111)
FIG. 1. (a) Schematic of an individual AlGaN NW. (b) and (c) Tilted-view SEM images of the AlGaN NWs grown under the same growth parameters, except the difference
in the substrate rotation speed, with (b) of 4 rpm (sample A) and (c) of 15 rpm (sample B). The inset highlights the top-surface morphology difference, with a more severe
coalescence on the top in sample A (the arrows exemplify a few coalescences) compared to sample B.
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41(3) May/Jun 2023; doi: 10.1116/6.0002494
Published under an exclusive license by the AVS
LETTER avs.scitation.org/journal/jvb
surface reconstruction. Two substrate rotation speeds were used,
4 rpm for sample A and 15 rpm for sample B. The scanning elec-
tron microscopy (SEM) images were taken at a 45° tilting angle
using a field-emission SEM.
Standard photolithography and metallization processes were
used for fabricating the electrically injected devices, in which a con-
ventional Ni/Au thin metal bilayer was used as the p-contact to the
NW top surface. The device size was determined by the p-contact
size, which varied from 0.3 × 0.3 to 1 × 1 mm2. Colloidal silver
paste was used as the n-contact to the backside of the n-Si sub-
strate. Current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the devices were
measured under continuous-wave biasing conditions, and the elec-
troluminescence (EL) spectra of the fabricated devices were col-
lected from the device top surface at room temperature using an
optical fiber and analyzed through a deep UV spectrometer.
Downloaded from http://pubs.aip.org/avs/jvb/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/6.0002494/16827133/030601_1_6.0002494.pdf
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figures 1(b) and 1(c) show SEM images of AlGaN NWs
grown with the substrate rotation speed of 4 (sample A) and
15 rpm (sample B), respectively, with the inset showing high mag-
nification SEM images. It is seen that, by increasing the substrate
rotation speed, the NW top-surface morphology improves. In spe-
cific, the coalescence in sample B is reduced compared to sample
A. The inset also suggests a more significant variation of the nano-
wire height and diameter in sample A compared to sample B.
To further investigate the nanowire height and diameter varia-
tion comparing the two samples, statistics based on the SEM
images was carried out. Figure 2(a) shows the results for the NW
diameter. It seen that, for sample A, the NW diameter varies from
40 to 80 nm, with a statistical average of 56.4 nm and a standard
deviation of 9.2 nm; for sample B, the NW diameter varies in a
much smaller range of 45–65 nm, with a statistical average of
54.1 nm and a standard deviation of 4.9 nm. These statistical values
clearly indicate an improved NW diameter uniformity by using a
higher substrate rotation speed. Figure 2(b) shows the statistics of
41, 030601-2
 LETTER avs.scitation.org/journal/jvb

Downloaded from http://pubs.aip.org/avs/jvb/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/6.0002494/16827133/030601_1_6.0002494.pdf

FIG. 2. (a) and (b) Statistics of the NW diameter and height for samples A and B, respectively.

the NW height. It is seen that for sample A, the NW height is in deep UV emitting AlGaN NWs have been shown at a low substrate
the range of 150–250 nm with a statistical average of 201.6 nm and rotation speed.44,45 Using a high substrate rotation speed helps the
a standard deviation of 30.7 nm; for sample B, the NW height only scenarios in which the III/N ratio or the temperature is not opti-
varies from 170 to 215 nm with a statistical average of 197.2 nm mized, and an additional knob for a better uniformity is needed. A
and a standard deviation of 10.3 nm. These statistical values clearly high substrate rotation speed essentially relaxes the requirements of
suggest an improved NW height uniformity as well with using a other parameters to obtain highly uniform AlGaN NWs.
higher substrate rotation speed. We have next compared the electrical performance of AlGaN
Previous studies on the epitaxy of III–V epilayers have clearly NW deep UV LEDs. Figure 3 shows the I–V characteristics for
shown the critical role of substrate rotation speed on the epilayer
uniformity. Given the flux profile for a fixed source position, a flux
gradient exists over the wafer; as such, certain substrate rotation
speed criteria should be satisfied in order to minimize the thickness
variation.40 Moreover, for the nanowire growth, additional effect due
to the substrate rotation exists. This was reported by Foxon et al.41 It
is found that in the growth of GaN nanowires with sources not in
the normal direction with respect to the substrate (like ours),
although atoms (N and Ga) can arrive at a given point on the top
surface of nanowires simultaneously, they do not arrive at a given
location on the sidewall at the same time due to different source
locations and the substrate rotation. As such, the growth on the side-
wall is mimicking metal-modulated epitaxy (MME); and in this case,
the lateral growth rate is dependent on the rotation speed and more
uniform nanowires can be obtained by using substrate rotation.
Separate studies further show that the lateral growth rate strongly
affects the nanowire uniformity through the lateral growth enhanced
shadow effect.42 As such, higher substrate rotation leads to a more
uniform nanowire formation. This model can also explain our case.
It is also noted that, in the growth of indium gallium nitride
(InGaN) NWs, holding the substrate steady leads to nanosheets
rather than NWs.43
Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that, to obtain relatively FIG. 3. I–V characteristic for samples A and B. Dashed lines are guide for eyes
uniform self-organized AlGaN NWs, using a high substrate rota- for the series resistance estimation. The device size is 1 × 1 mm2.
tion speed might not be necessary. For example, relatively uniform

J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41(3) May/Jun 2023; doi: 10.1116/6.0002494 41, 030601-3
Published under an exclusive license by the AVS

FIG. 4. (a) EL emission spectra of samples A and B under an injection current of 40 mA. (b) Light intensity vs the injection current for samples A and B.
samples A and B, with the main figure showing the linear scale and
the inset showing the semilogarithmic scale. It is seen that sample
B has improved I–V characteristics compared to sample A, includ-
ing (1) the leakage current of sample B is reduced roughly by one
order of magnitude at −8 V compared to sample A and (2) the
forward current (at 10 V) of sample B is also increased by more
than twice in comparison to sample A. This leads to more than
one order of magnitude improvement on the rectification ratio at
±8 V. The series resistance for both samples is further estimated by
the slope near 10 V, which gives 447.6 Ω for sample A and 115.7 Ω
for sample B.
Two possible reasons could largely account for this improved
electrical performance. First, it could be related to a more uniform
Mg doping. It is known from previous studies that high Mg doping
could be harmful for p-type conduction due to doping induced
defects; as such, if no rotation, Mg concentration could be high
locally (this has been shown in previous studies, e.g., Ref. 43),
reducing p-type conductivity. Second, the improvement could be
through a reduced coalescence. With higher rotation speed, nano-
wires are more uniform (as explained earlier), and coalescence
could be reduced (SEM images do suggest coalescence is less in the
higher rpm sample, although coalescence is still present, due to a
high nanowire density). As most of the defects in Mg-doped
III-nitrides are detrimental to p-type doping, reducing coalescence,
thus, could improve p-type conduction.
The enhanced electrical performance further transfers to the
improved light output power. Figure 4(a) shows the EL emission
spectra for samples A and B under an injection current of 40 mA.
It is seen that both samples emit light around 240 nm, shown by
the dominant EL emission peak. Moreover, the light intensity of
sample B is higher than sample A. It is also noted that, in addition
to the main EL emission peak, another EL emission peak with a
wavelength in the range of 280–300 nm is also observed, which
could be due to the light emission from the p-AlGaN region, i.e.,
optical transitions related to the deep levels in high Al content
AlGaN alloys.46–48 Figure 4(b) further shows the light intensity as a
function of the injection current for samples A and B, which
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41(3) May/Jun 2023; doi: 10.1116/6.0002494
Published under an exclusive license by the AVS
LETTER avs.scitation.org/journal/jvb
Downloaded from http://pubs.aip.org/avs/jvb/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/6.0002494/16827133/030601_1_6.0002494.pdf
clearly manifests the improvement on the light intensity with using
a high substrate rotation speed. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that
these I–V and EL improvements are measured at a wafer scale.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, we have reported the effect of the substrate
rotation speed on the nanowire height and diameter uniformity, as
well as the electrical and optical performance of AlGaN NW deep
UV LED structures. SEM studies, combining NW statistics, suggest
an improved NW height and diameter uniformity, when a high
substrate rotation speed is used. The improved nanowire uniformity
can be explained by the reduced MME effect for the nanowire
lateral growth. Device electrical performance is further compared,
and a factor of 4 reduction in the device series resistance and one
order of magnitude improvement on the rectification ratio
(at ±8 V) are also obtained by using a high substrate rotation speed,
largely due to the improved p-type conduction in the p-AlGaN
layer. This electrical performance enhancement further transfers to
the improved light intensity of AlGaN NW deep UV LEDs. This
work represents the first report on the effect of the substrate rota-
tion speed on the properties of AlGaN NW deep UV LED struc-
tures and will help the further development of AlGaN NW-based
semiconductor deep UV LEDs and lasers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Fonds de Recherche du
Quebec—Nature et Technologies (FRQNT). The authors would
also like to acknowledge CMC Microsystems for the provision of
products and services that facilitated this research.
AUTHOR DECLARATIONS
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
41, 030601-4
 LETTER avs.scitation.org/journal/jvb

22
Author Contributions C. Zhao et al., Prog. Quantum Electron. 61, 1 (2018).
23
H. Sun and X. Li, Phys. Status Solidi A 216, 1800420 (2018).
Mohammad Fazel Vafadar: Data curation (lead); Formal analysis 24
N. H. Tran, B. H. Le, S. Zhao, and Z. Mi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 110, 032102
(lead). Rezoana Bente Arif: Data curation (supporting); Formal anal- (2017).
ysis (supporting). Qihua Zhang: Data curation (supporting). Songrui 25
Z. Fang, E. Robin, E. Rozas-Jiménez, A. Cros, F. Donatini, N. Mollard,
Zhao: Conceptualization (lead); Formal analysis (supporting). J. Pernot, and B. Daudin, Nano Lett. 15, 6794 (2015).
26
S. Zhao, B. H. Le, D. P. Liu, X. D. Liu, M. G. Kibria, T. Szkopek, H. Guo, and
DATA AVAILABILITY Z. Mi, Nano Lett. 13, 5509 (2013).
27
R. Lin, S. V. Galan, H. Sun, Y. Hu, M. S. Alias, B. Janjua, T. K. Ng, B. S. Ooi,
The data that support the findings of this study are available and X. Li, Photonics Res. 6, 457 (2018).
28
from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. J. Lu, M. F. Vafadar, and S. Zhao, J. Nanophotonics 15, 036002 (2021).
29
M. Djavid and Z. Mi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 108, 051102 (2016).
30
S. Zhao, X. Liu, Y. Wu, and Z. Mi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 109, 191106 (2016).
REFERENCES 31
K. H. Li, X. Liu, Q. Wang, S. Zhao, and Z. Mi, Nat. Nanotechnol. 10, 140
1
M. Kneissl, T.-Y. Seong, J. Han, and H. Amano, Nat. Photonics 13, 233 (2019). (2015).
2 32
H. Amano et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 53, 503001 (2020). S. Zhao, X. Liu, S. Y. Woo, J. Kang, G. A. Botton, and Z. Mi, Appl. Phys. Lett.
3
Y. Taniyasu, M. Kasu, and T. Makimoto, Nature 441, 325 (2006). 107, 043101 (2015).
4 33
H. Yoshida, Y. Yamashita, M. Kuwabara, and H. Kan, Nat. Photonics 2, 551 X. Liu, B. H. Le, S. Y. Woo, S. Zhao, A. Pofelski, G. A. Botton, and Z. Mi, Opt.

Downloaded from http://pubs.aip.org/avs/jvb/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/6.0002494/16827133/030601_1_6.0002494.pdf

(2008). Express 25, 30494 (2017).
5 34
H. Hirayama, N. Maeda, S. Fujikawa, S. Toyoda, and N. Kamata, Jpn. J. Appl. A. Bengoechea-Encabo et al., J. Cryst. Growth 325, 89 (2011).
35
Phys. 53, 100209 (2014). M. F. Vafadar and S. Zhao, ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 5, 16045 (2022).
6 36
D. Li, K. Jiang, X. Sun, and C. Guo, Adv. Opt. Photonics 10, 43 (2018). B. H. Le, S. Zhao, X. Liu, S. Y. Woo, G. A. Botton, and Z. Mi, Adv. Mater. 28,
7
T. D. Moustakas and R. Paiella, Rep. Prog. Phys. 80, 106501 (2017). 8446 (2016).
8 37
H. Sun et al., Adv. Funct. Mater. 29, 1905445 (2019). S. Fernández-Garrido, J. Grandal, E. Calleja, M. A. Sánchez-García, and
9
H. Yu, M. H. Memon, D. Wang, Z. Ren, H. Zhang, C. Huang, M. Tian, H. Sun, D. López-Romero, J. Appl. Phys. 106, 126102 (2009).
38
and S. Long, Opt. Lett. 46, 3271 (2021). J. K. Zettler, C. Hauswald, P. Corfdir, M. Musolino, L. Geelhaar, H. Riechert,
10
Y. Muramoto, M. Kimura, and S. Nouda, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29, 084004 O. Brandt, and S. Fernández-Garrido, Cryst. Growth Des. 15, 4104
(2014). (2015).
11 39
Y. Zhang, S. Krishnamoorthy, F. Akyol, J. M. Johnson, A. A. Allerman, Y. Zhong, E. Berikaa, J. Lu, X. Yin, and S. Zhao, AIP Adv. 10, 025022
M. W. Moseley, A. M. Armstrong, J. Hwang, and S. Rajan, Appl. Phys. Lett. 111, (2020).
40
051104 (2017). Z. R. Wasilewski, in Molecular Beam Epitaxy, edited by M. Henini (Elsevier,
12
C. Liu, Y. K. Ooi, S. M. Islam, J. Verma, H. G. Xing, D. Jena, and J. Zhang, Oxford, 2013), pp. 631–655.
41
Appl. Phys. Lett. 110, 071103 (2017). C. T. Foxon, S. V. Novikov, J. L. Hall, R. P. Campion, D. Cherns, I. Griffiths,
13
M. H. Crawford, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, edited by Z. Mi and and S. Khongphetsak, J. Cryst. Growth 311, 3423 (2009).
42
C. Jagadish (Elsevier, New York, 2017), Vol. 96, pp. 3–44. N. V. Sibirev, M. Tchernycheva, M. A. Timofeeva, J.-C. Harmand,
14
S. Zhao et al., Sci. Rep. 5, 8332 (2015). G. E. Cirlin, and V. G. Dubrovskii, J. Appl. Phys. 111, 104317 (2012).
15 43
H. Parimoo, Q. Zhang, M. Vafadar, J. Sivasundarampillai, and S. Zhao, Appl. F. A. Chowdhury, M. L. Trudeau, H. Guo, and Z. Mi, Nat. Commun. 9, 1707
Phys. Lett. 120, 171108 (2022). (2018).
16 44
A. T. M. G. Sarwar, B. J. May, J. I. Deitz, T. J. Grassman, D. W. McComb, and S. Zhao et al., APL Mater. 4, 086115 (2016).
45
R. C. Myers, Appl. Phys. Lett. 107, 101103 (2015). S. Zhao, S. M. Sadaf, S. Vanka, Y. Wang, R. Rashid, and Z. Mi, Appl. Phys.
17
S. Zhao and Z. Mi, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 54, 1 (2018). Lett. 109, 201106 (2016).
18 46
B. J. May, C. M. Selcu, A. T. M. G. Sarwar, and R. C. Myers, Appl. Phys. Lett. M. L. Nakarmi, N. Nepal, J. Y. Lin, and H. X. Jiang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94,
112, 093107 (2018). 091903 (2009).
19 47
M. F. Vafadar and S. Zhao, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 40, 050602 (2022). K. B. Nam, M. L. Nakarmi, J. Y. Lin, and H. X. Jiang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 86,
20
S. Zhao, J. Lu, X. Hai, and X. Yin, Micromachines 11, 125 (2020). 222108 (2005).
21 48
A. T. M. G. Sarwar, B. J. May, M. F. Chisholm, G. J. Duscher, and R. C. Myers, N. Nepal, M. L. Nakarmi, J. Y. Lin, and H. X. Jiang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89,
Nanoscale 8, 8024 (2016). 092107 (2006).

J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41(3) May/Jun 2023; doi: 10.1116/6.0002494 41, 030601-5
Published under an exclusive license by the AVS