Preparation and rapid thermal annealing of AlN thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

AlN films were grown at 785 ∘C on (0001) sapphire substrates by radio-frequency assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Post-growth rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was carried out from 900 to 1200 ∘C for 10 s in flowing N2. The morphological and structural properties of the AlN epilayers before and after the RTA were studied by atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the threading dislocations can be decreased to an order of magnitude by using an interlayer growth method. The surface roughness (RMS) of the AlN thin films becomes larger with the increase of annealing temperature. The full width at half maximum of AlN (0002) rocking curve reaches its minimum after the RTA at 1000 ∘C.