Plasma-induced damage to <i>n</i>-type GaN

Abstract

The effects of plasma etching on 1/f noise and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of n-GaN have been investigated. A reduction of 1/f noise was observed after plasma exposure, a result of enhanced passivation of the reactive surface. This is attributed to the removal of carbon and the creation of a Ga-rich surface by the etching process. Nevertheless, the formation of nonradiative recombination centers impaired the PL intensity. Reconstruction of a stoichiometric surface was achieved by annealing. This induced the incorporation of carbon into GaN, deteriorating the PL performance further, but it could be restored by a chemical treatment of 10:1 HF:H2O.