Structural and electrical properties of AlxIn1-xN (0.10≤x≤0.94) films grown on sapphire substrates

AlxIn1–xN films were grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by reactive radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering in an ambient of Ar and N2. The XRD patterns are shown from AlxIn1–xN films grown on AlN/sapphire substrates using a wide range of magnetron power ratio settings. The wurtzite structure films have high crystal quality with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) in the range of 0.22°–0.52°. The surface morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Raman spectra were measured on the AlxIn1–xN surfaces in a backscattering configuration at room temperature with 532 nm laser excitation and show A1(LO) bimodal behavior. Electrical resistivity and electron mobility were measured by the Hall effect method in the conventional Van der Pauw geometry at room temperature. The lowest electrical resistivity is 1 × 10−3 Ω·cm. This work suggests that reactive magnetron sputtering is a promising method for growing AlxIn1–xN films in over a large composition range.