Structural and magnetic impact of Cr+-implantation into GaN thin film

Thin films of GaN with thickness of 2 mu m were synthesized on sapphire. Cr+ ions were implanted into GaN with 150 keV energy at a fluence of 3 x 10(15) cm(-2). The annealing of the samples was carried out for a short time using rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Structural properties of the implanted samples were undertaken by XRD and Rutherford backscattering. The annealed samples demonstrated lattice recovery and damages caused by implantation. The structural properties were also studied by High-resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD). Magnetic measurements of the samples were performed by Alternating Gradient Magnetometer (AGM) at room temperature and by SQUID in the range of 5-380 K. The SQUID results showed ferromagnetic behavior at T = 5 K and above 380 K for Cr+-implanted GaN. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.