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Optical properties of Zr-doped AlN epilayers

MetadataDetails
Publication Date2025-07-01
JournalAPL Materials
AuthorsH. Alwan, M. Almohammad, J. Li, J. Y. Lin, H. X. Jiang
InstitutionsTexas Tech University

Aluminum nitride (AlN) doped with zirconium (Zr), AlN:Zr, an ultrawide bandgap semiconductor, has been theoretically predicted as a promising material for quantum information systems, piezoelectric applications, and photoconductive semiconductor switches. We report on the optical characterization of AlN:Zr epilayers synthesized by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Photoluminescence measurements demonstrate that Zr doping introduces distinct emission features near 1.8, 2.46, and 3.63 eV. These emission lines, together with a prominent absorption peak centered at 1.78 eV whose intensity increases with Zr content, are identified as originating from the complex between Zr and nitrogen vacancy, ZrAl-VN. Evidence indicates that the dominant optical absorption and emission pathways involve the neutral charge state of this complex, (ZrAl-VN)0. This finding is highly encouraging, given that (ZrAl-VN)0 is considered an ideal candidate for a qubit. Concurrently, our analysis reveals that Zr incorporation also promotes the formation of deleterious aluminum vacancy (VAl) and VAl-complex related defects, necessitating process optimization to minimize their concentration for practical device realization.

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