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Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD

Ciaran Llewelyn Orcid Logo, Zdenko Zápražný, Edmund Dobročka, Filip Gucmann, Dan Lamb Orcid Logo

physica status solidi (a), Volume: 223, Issue: 6

Swansea University Authors: Ciaran Llewelyn Orcid Logo, Dan Lamb Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/pssa.202500608

Abstract

A series of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films were deposited using an AIXTRON Close-Coupled Showerhead (CCS) metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) system to study aluminium (Al) incorporation into the β-Ga2O3 lattice. Films ≈1.2 μm thick were grown on 2-inch and 4-inch c-plane sapphire substrates....

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Published in: physica status solidi (a)
ISSN: 1862-6300 1862-6319
Published: Wiley 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71413
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spelling 2026-03-16T11:41:28.7813919 v2 71413 2026-02-13 Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD 91e58657b172ff1c49c86599dd049d72 0009-0005-4074-5204 Ciaran Llewelyn Ciaran Llewelyn true false decd92a653848a357f0c6f8e38e0aea0 0000-0002-4762-4641 Dan Lamb Dan Lamb true false 2026-02-13 BGPS A series of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films were deposited using an AIXTRON Close-Coupled Showerhead (CCS) metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) system to study aluminium (Al) incorporation into the β-Ga2O3 lattice. Films ≈1.2 μm thick were grown on 2-inch and 4-inch c-plane sapphire substrates. A linear relationship between film composition and precursor ratio indicated near-ideal alloying behaviour. Growth kinetics were composition-dependent, where Al incorporation reduced growth rates compared to gallium (Ga), although pure Al2O3 grew faster than intermediate alloys. The films exhibited high optical transmittance (82–88%), with a tuneable bandgap increasing with Al content. Morphological changes and increased roughness were observed up to Al x = 0.42, suggesting a possible phase transition. X-ray diffraction, rocking curve measurements and pole figure confirmed the monoclinic β-phase for the Ga2O3 only film, with strong, well-defined Bragg peaks. For Al2O3, only the substrate and nucleation layer reflections were visible, consistent with epitaxial Al2O3 growth on sapphire. The largest rocking curve full width half maximum was observed for samples with Al content x equals 0.12 and 0.42, which can be correlated with significant changes in the thin film surface morphology. The successful extension from 2-inch to 4-inch wafers highlights the scalability and uniformity of the CCS MOCVD process. Journal Article physica status solidi (a) 223 6 Wiley 1862-6300 1862-6319 4-inch sapphire; aluminium gallium oxide; gallium oxide; MOCVD; semiconductors 20 3 2026 2026-03-20 10.1002/pssa.202500608 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Grant Number: EP/T019085/1; Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja. Grant Numbers: APVV-24-0325, SK-TW-RD-24-0006 2026-03-16T11:41:28.7813919 2026-02-13T09:48:19.3000716 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Aerospace Engineering Ciaran Llewelyn 0009-0005-4074-5204 1 Zdenko Zápražný 2 Edmund Dobročka 3 Filip Gucmann 4 Dan Lamb 0000-0002-4762-4641 5 71413__36417__1e634879f873451088ff6e9f95a72ad5.pdf 71413.VoR.pdf 2026-03-16T11:37:59.8100043 Output 5511578 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
spellingShingle Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
Ciaran Llewelyn
Dan Lamb
title_short Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
title_full Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
title_fullStr Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
title_full_unstemmed Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
title_sort Scalable Growth and Properties of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 Thin Films on 2- and 4-Inch Sapphire via Close-Coupled Showerhead MOCVD
author_id_str_mv 91e58657b172ff1c49c86599dd049d72
decd92a653848a357f0c6f8e38e0aea0
author_id_fullname_str_mv 91e58657b172ff1c49c86599dd049d72_***_Ciaran Llewelyn
decd92a653848a357f0c6f8e38e0aea0_***_Dan Lamb
author Ciaran Llewelyn
Dan Lamb
author2 Ciaran Llewelyn
Zdenko Zápražný
Edmund Dobročka
Filip Gucmann
Dan Lamb
format Journal article
container_title physica status solidi (a)
container_volume 223
container_issue 6
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 1862-6300
1862-6319
doi_str_mv 10.1002/pssa.202500608
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Aerospace Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Aerospace Engineering
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description A series of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films were deposited using an AIXTRON Close-Coupled Showerhead (CCS) metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) system to study aluminium (Al) incorporation into the β-Ga2O3 lattice. Films ≈1.2 μm thick were grown on 2-inch and 4-inch c-plane sapphire substrates. A linear relationship between film composition and precursor ratio indicated near-ideal alloying behaviour. Growth kinetics were composition-dependent, where Al incorporation reduced growth rates compared to gallium (Ga), although pure Al2O3 grew faster than intermediate alloys. The films exhibited high optical transmittance (82–88%), with a tuneable bandgap increasing with Al content. Morphological changes and increased roughness were observed up to Al x = 0.42, suggesting a possible phase transition. X-ray diffraction, rocking curve measurements and pole figure confirmed the monoclinic β-phase for the Ga2O3 only film, with strong, well-defined Bragg peaks. For Al2O3, only the substrate and nucleation layer reflections were visible, consistent with epitaxial Al2O3 growth on sapphire. The largest rocking curve full width half maximum was observed for samples with Al content x equals 0.12 and 0.42, which can be correlated with significant changes in the thin film surface morphology. The successful extension from 2-inch to 4-inch wafers highlights the scalability and uniformity of the CCS MOCVD process.
published_date 2026-03-20T05:34:13Z
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score 11.100061

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