Bandgap Engineering and Oxygen Vacancy Defect Electroactivity Inhibition in Highly Crystalline N-Alloyed Ga2O3 Films through Plasma-Enhanced Technology

Previous research has shown that the hybridization ofN 2p andO 2p orbitals effectively suppresses the electrical activity of oxygenvacancies in oxide semiconductors. However, achieving N-alloyed Ga2O3 films, known as GaON, poses a significant challengedue to nitrogen's limited solubility in the material. In thisstudy, a new method utilizing plasma-enhanced chemical vapor depositionwith high-energy nitrogen plasma was explored to enhance the nitrogensolubility in the material. By adjusting the N-2 and O-2 carrier gas ratio, we could tune the thin film's bandgapfrom 4.64 to 3.25 eV, leading to a reduction in the oxygen vacancydensity from 32.89% to 19.87%. GaON-based photodetectors exhibitedsuperior performance compared to that of Ga2O3-based devices, with a lower dark current and a faster photoresponsespeed. This investigation presents an innovative approach to achievinghigh-performance devices based on Ga2O3.

Automated summary

Previous research has shown that hybridization of N 2p and O 2p orbitals effectively reduces the electrical activity of oxygen vacancies in oxide semiconductors. However, achieving N-alloyed Ga2O3 films, known as GaON, is challenging due to nitrogen's limited solubility in the material. This study explores a new method using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with high-energy nitrogen plasma to enhance nitrogen solubility. By adjusting the N-2 and O-2 carrier gas ratio, the thin film's bandgap can be tuned, resulting in a decrease in oxygen vacancy density and improved performance of GaON-based photodetectors.