Nanoindentation of AlGaN Films Formed on SiC/Si Substrates Grown by the Method of Coordinated Substitution of Atoms

 In this article, the mechanical and deformation characteristics of epitaxial films of AlGaN solid solutions formed on silicon substrates of crystallographic orientations (001), (011) and (111) with a silicon carbide (SiC/Si) buffer layer synthesized by the method of the coordinated substitution of atoms were studied using the nanoindentation method. The growth of AlGaN epitaxial layers were carried out both directly on the SiC/Si hybrid substrate and on the SiC/Si substrate additionally coated with an AlN buffer layer. The morphology and structure of the surface of the layers was studied by atomic force microscopy. The structural characteristics of hybrid AlGaN substrates and films grown with and without an aluminum nitride buffer layer were measured. An unambiguous relationship has been established between the mechanical properties (elasticity modulus and hardness) and the surface structure of AlGaN films. It has been found that the AlN buffer layer has a significant effect on the mechanical and deformation properties of AlGaN films at the initial moment of indentation, when the layer is predominantly elastically deformed. The roughness was determined and the surface morphology of the AlGaN films was characterized. For the first time, experimentally, using the nanoindentation method, the hardness parameters and the reduced modulus of elasticity of epitaxial AlGaN grown on hybrid SiC/Si and AlN/SiC/Si substrates were measured.