Recovery Of Dry-Etch-Induced Surface Damage On Mg-Doped Gan By Nh3 Ambient Thermal Annealing

We report that NH3 ambient thermal annealing is a promising method for recovering the dryetch-induced damage on Mg-doped GaN surfaces. The surface electrical properties of dry-etched Mg-doped GaN can be fully recovered by thermal annealing using NH3 as an ambient gas at temperatures above 900 degreesC. The complete recovery of sheet hole concentration in dry-etched Mg-doped GaN can be attributed to a reduction in excess nitrogen vacancies in the damaged surface region by reactive nitrogen atoms supplied during NH3 ambient thermal annealing. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.