Thermal stability of β-Ga₂O₃in mixed flows of H₂and N₂

Abstract

The thermal stability of β-Ga2O3(010) substrates was investigated at atmospheric pressure between 250 and 1450 °C in a flow of either N2 or a mixture of H2 and N2 using a radio-frequency induction furnace. The β-Ga2O3 surface was found to decompose at and above 1150 °C in N2, while the decomposition of β-Ga2O3 began at only 350 °C in the presence of H2. Heating β-Ga2O3 substrates in gas flows containing different molar fractions of H2 demonstrated that the decomposition was promoted by increasing the H2 molar fractions. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the dominant reactions are in N2 and in a mixed flow of H2 and N2. The second-order reaction with respect to H2 determined for the mixed flows agrees with the experimental results for the dependence of the β-Ga2O3 decomposition rates on the H2 molar fraction.