This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project will investigate the efficacy of a thermal source of atomic nitrogen and hydrogen for molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) applications. Both of these species are useful in the deposition of many electronic, optical, and tribological materials. Presently plasma sources produce about 1% N1 or H1, but also yield an equal number of energetic ions which can be undesirable during the growth of materials like GaN by MBE. Furthermore, the ability to monitor the atomic gas flux would allow closed-loop feedback control greatly improving the deposition process. The project will characterize the efficiency of our thermal source for producing both N1 and H1 and this source should yield up to 10 % N1 and over 60 % H1 with atomic fluxes at the substrate surface in excess of 1 and 5 x 1015 atoms/cm2/sec, respectively. We will incorporate this source into an MBE system to grow and then characterize high quality GaN films. Finally, we plan to conduct a study of potential techniques which might be used as an in-situ monitor for N1. Our thermal N1/H1 source has many advantages over conventional plasma sources including a higher atomic flux, lower contamination, and does not produce ions. A high flux thermal N1/H1 source will increase the growth rates of high quality MBE GaN material by about an order of magnitude. GaN will be used in a variety electro-optic applications including blue lasers and LEDs and will create many new opportunities itself. Furthermore, it is also expected that this source will be quickly incorporated into many other physical vapor deposition processes for the growth of cBN, C3N4, and/or low temperature diamond materials, to name a few. Each of these materials themselves may enable new or emerging technologies and generate opportunities for many US companies.
