GOALI: Creation of Crystalline Surfaces for Short Wavelength Light Emitters

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater OK

Investigators

Abstract

This university-industry collaborative research project seeks to advance the capability for the manufacture of crystalline surfaces for use in short wavelength light emitters (blue/UV LEDs and lasers) by contributing to a basic understanding of the generation of defects resultant from the processing of ZnO substrates, and the subsequent homoepitaxial growth of films. ZnO substrates will be prepared by chemomechanical polishing and further pre-growth processing techniques, after which homoepitaxial films will be grown on the substrates. The defects generated at various stages of surface processing will be examined with high energy backscattering spectrometry, ion channeling and scanning electrical properties microscopy. This understanding will aid in identifying the processing conditions which show promise for producing ultra-high quality epitaxial films on ZnO. Development of this understanding has the potential to contributing to the successful demonstration of the homoepitaxial growth of ZnO. This work will further contribute to the development of advanced surface characterization tools which are needed for assessing near surface damage at the nanometer scale. An extensive collaborative effort involving Oklahoma State University, Eagle-Picher Technologies and Los Alamos National Laboratory will be undertaken.