TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF RELAXATION IN AlGaN/GaN HETEROSTRUCTURES

Effects of Si3N4 passivation layer on the lattice strain of Al0.22Ga0.78N layer with the thickness of 100 nm has been studied by in situ X-ray diffraction by the temperature range of 25°C–550°C. Results show that the temperature dependence of the strain relaxations can be separated into three linear regions. After passivation, an additional in-plane tensile strain is observed. The residual tensile strain increases with increasing temperature at low temperature, while at higher temperature the residual tensile strain decreases slightly. There is clear influence when a passive layer is deposited on the surface of the heterostructures. The linear regions in the temperature dependence of strain vary after the passive layer deposited on the heterostructure. These results indicate that the variation of the lattice strain relates to the difference in thermal stability between the epitaxy layer and the substrate.