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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Molecular beam epitaxial growth of AlN on sapphire and 6H-SiC has been performed utilizing mono-energetic activated nitrogen ion beams (2-80 eV kinetic energies). The growth temperature of AlN in MBE is found to be limited by the sticking coefficient of incident reactants. The combination of elevated growth temperatures (1050-1150°C), high kinetic-energy reactive nitrogen (>40 eV) and post-growth thermal processing (1150-1350°C) produces high-quality AlN thin-f ilms with narrow rocking curve widths (<2 arcmin) and low dislocation densities (<∼3×108cm−2). In contrast, the use of in-situ step anneals during synthesis did not achieve similar quality materials.