Electrical properties of scandium nitride epitaxial films grown on (100) magnesium oxide substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

Scandium nitride (ScN) films were grown on (100) MgO single crystals by a molecular beam epitaxy method. The effects of growth conditions, including [Sc]/[N] ratio, growth temperature, and nitrogen radical state, on the electrical properties of the ScN films were studied. The ScN films comprised many small columnar grains. Hall coefficient measurements confirmed that the ScN films were highly degenerate n-type semiconductors and that the carrier concentration of the ScN films was sensitive to the growth temperature and the nitrogen radical states during the film growth. The carrier concentrations of the ScN films ranged from 1019–1021 cm−3 while the Hall mobilities ranged from 50–130 cm2·V−1·s−1 for undoped films. The temperature-dependent Hall coefficient measurements showed that the carrier concentration is nearly independent of temperature, indicating that the change in resistivity with temperature is explained by a change in the Hall mobility. The temperature-dependence of the Hall mobility was strongly affected by the growth conditions.