UC Santa Barbara

The electrical conductivity and deep level spectrum of GaN grown by molecular beam epitaxy and codoped with carbon and silicon were investigated for substrate temperatures T-s of 650 and 720 degrees C as a function relative carbon and silicon doping levels. With sufficiently high carbon doping, semi-insulating behavior was observed for films grown at both temperatures, and growth at T-s=720 degrees C enhanced the carbon compensation ratio. Similar carbon-related band gap states were observed via deep level optical spectroscopy for films grown at both substrate temperatures. Due to the semi-insulating nature of the films, a lighted capacitance-voltage technique was required to determine individual deep level concentrations. Carbon-related band gap states underwent substantial redistribution between deep level and shallow acceptor configurations with change in T-s. In light of a T-s dependence for the preferential site of carbon incorporation, a model of semi-insulating behavior in terms of carbon impurity state incorporation mediated by substrate temperature is proposed. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.