Effect of irradiation temperature on dynamic recovery in gallium nitride

A single crystal gallium nitride film on sapphire was successively irradiated to a fluence of 4.5 Au3+/nm(2) in different areas at varied temperatures ranging from 150 to 800 K. The temperature dependence of disorder on both the Ga and N sublattices has been investigated using a 3.736 MeV He+ backscattering analysis along the < 0001 >- and < 1011 >-axial channeling directions. Significant dynamic recovery of disorder occurs over the applied temperature range. There is a higher degree of disorder on the N sublattice observed along the < 1011 > axis. Some of the defects produced during the irradiation in GaN are effectively shielded by the < 0001 > axis. Published by Elsevier B.V.