An Early In-Situ Stress Signature of the AlN-Si Pre-growth Interface for Successful Integration of Nitrides with (111) Si

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that measuring the early growth stress of AlN layers on Si (111) substrates can serve as a reliable indicator of surface quality and predict successful nitrides integration, improving pre-growth surface assessment.

Contribution

It introduces the AlN growth stress as an early, quantitative indicator of interface quality, linking stress measurements to epitaxial success.

Findings

Early AlN stress (<0.5 GPa) correlates with successful epitaxy.

Growth stress serves as a fail-safe indicator of surface readiness.

Grain coalescence model explains stress generation and interface quality.

Abstract

The integration of MOCVD grown group III-A nitride device stacks on Si (111) substrates is critically dependent on the quality of the first AlN buffer layer grown. A Si surface that is both oxide-free and smooth is a primary requirement for nucleating such layers. A single parameter, the AlN layer growth stress, is shown to be an early (within 50 nm), clear (<0.5 GPa versus >1 GPa) and fail-safe indicator of the pre-growth surface, and the AlN quality required for successful epitaxy. Grain coalescence model for stress generation is used to correlate growth stress, the AlN-Si interface and crystal quality.