Synchrotron radiation photoemission study of thermal oxidation of AlGaN surface

Watanabe, Kenta*; Yamada, Takahiro*; Nozaki, Mikito*; Nakazawa, Satoshi*; Shih, H.*; Anda, Yoshiharu*; Ueda, Tetsuzo*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka ; Hosoi, Takuji*; Shimura, Takayoshi*; Watanabe, Heiji*

Initial oxidation process of AlGaN surface during thermal oxidation was investigated by synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy. Thermal oxidation of AlGaN/GaN/Si(111) substrates was carried out for 30 min in the temperature range from 200 to 1000 degrees in O ambient. The obtained Ga 2p spectra exhibited peak shift toward the higher binding energy with increasing oxidation temperature, suggesting the growth of Ga oxides on AlGaN surface. The peak deconvolution of Ga 2p spectra into Ga-O and Ga-N components revealed that the formation of Ga oxides was formed on AlGaN surface at above 400 degrees while GaN surface was stable below 600 degrees. These results indicate that AlGaN surface is easy to be oxidized compared to GaN surface.