Nanomechanical characterizations of InGaN thin films

InxGa1 xN thin films with In concentration ranging from 25 to 34 at.% were deposited on sapphire substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Crystalline structure and surface morphology of the deposited films were studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hardness, Young’s modulus and creep resistance were measured using a nanoindenter. Among the deposited films, In0.25Ga0.75N film exhibits a larger grain size and a higher surface roughness. Results indicate that hardness decreases slightly with increasing In concentration in the InxGa1 xN films ranged from 16.6 1.1 to 16.1 0.7 GPa and, Young’s modulus for the In0.25Ga0.75N, In0.3Ga0.7N and In0.34Ga0.66N films are 375.8 23.1, 322.4 13.5 and 373.9 28.6 GPa, respectively. In addition, the time-dependent nanoindentation creep experiments are presented in this article.