Substrates Grown from the Vapor for ZnO Homoepitaxy

The novel method of preparation of epi-ready ZnO substrates is demonstrated. The substrates were made of unique ZnO crystals grown by chemical vapor transport method using hydrogen as the transport agent. The effect of low-level doping (Mn, Co, Cu, and V) on the structural quality of the crystals was investigated. Atomic layer deposition was used to verify usability of the substrates for homoepitaxy. The thermal annealing prior to the atomic layer deposition process and effect of thermal annealing of the epitaxial layers was studied. The X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy methods were applied to study the structural quality of the ZnO layers. Detection of the dopants in the substrates by secondary ion mass spectroscopy made possible the measurement of the thickness of the layers. The obtained root mean square roughness for both the substrates and layers ranged between 0.2 nm and 5 nm, and was dependent on the sample crystallographic orientation and sequence of polishing and annealing procedures. The optimal recipe for the epi-ready substrate preparation was formulated.