High thermal stability of high indium content InGaN films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Thermal stability on the structural and optical properties of high indium content InGaN films grown using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was investigated through long-duration and high-temperature annealing. X-ray diffraction and cathode- luminescence measurements of the 33% indium InGaN revealed no differences in the line-shape and peak position even after annealing at 800°C for 95 min; similar structural stability was found for the 60% samples after annealing for 75 min. The higher thermal stability is attributed to nanoscale InN domains with different orientations create mixed-polarity InGaN/InN interfaces, resulting in higher activation energies at interfaces and increasing the thermal stability of the material. Furthermore, the InGaN films were subjected to metalorganic chemical vapor deposition treatment to regrow a GaN layer; results are promising for the development of high thermal stability InGaN films using the PLD technique.