The structural and morphological characteristics of 90 keV Mn+ ion implanted GaN films

Wurtzite gallium nitride (GaN) films are grown by low-pressure MOCVD on (0001)-plane sapphire substrates. The GaN films have a total thickness of 4 μm with a surface Mg-doped p-type layer, which has a thickness of 0.5 μm. At room temperature, 90 keV Mn+ ions are implanted into the GaN films with doses ranging from 1×1015 to 1×1016 cm−2. After an annealing step at 770 °C in flowing N2, the structural characteristics of the Mn+-implanted GaN films are studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The structural and morphological changes brought about by Mn+ implantation and annealing are characterized, which lay a foundation for the magnetic characteristics study of GaN.