Spatially Resolved Polymorph Conversion in Ga2O3

Monoclinic galliumoxide (β-Ga2O3) is a promising wideband gap
semiconductor with a bandgap of 4.7 eV and a high breakdown voltage.
However, the existence of several metastable polymorphs and the
immature fabrication technology limits its applications. The research is
based on the recent observation that β-Ga2O3 can reliable be converted
into γ-Ga2O3 using high energy ion beams [1,2]. It could also be shown that
the resulting γ-Ga2O3 layer exhibits an exceptional tolerance towards high
fluence ion beam irradiation [3].
Here, we use focused ion beam (FIB) induced processing to convert β-Ga2O3
into γ-Ga2O3 in a spatially controlled way. We employ focused Ne ions from
a helium ion microscope (HIM) and liquid metal alloy ion sources (LMAIS)
based FIB with Co, Si, and In to induce the polymorph conversion. Electron
backscatter diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and
atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to confirm, in a spatially resolved
way, the successful polymorph conversion. From the obtained EBSD data
the orientation relationship between the irradiated and unirradiated
material is resolved. Broadbeam irradiated reference samples have been
used to corroborate these results with channeling Rutherford
backscattering spectrometry (c-RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Doppler
broadening variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy (DB-VEPAS)
results. The obtained crystal structure and defect distribution data supports
the model suggested for the conversion mechanism [3].
This research is supported by the tax funds on the basis of the budget
passed by the Saxonian state parliament in Germany and the COST Action
CA19140 FIT4NANO https://www.fit4nano.eu/.
[1] A. Azarov, C. Bazioti, Disorder-Induced Ordering in Gallium Oxide
Polymorphs, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128 (2022), 015704.
[2] J. Garcia-Fernandez, S.B. KJeldby, Formation of γ-Ga2O3 by ion
implantation: Polymorphic phase transformation of β- Ga2O3, Appl. Phys.
Lett. 121 (2022), 191601.
[3] A. Azarov, J. G. Fernández, J. Zhao, F. Djurabekova, H. He, R. He, Ø. Prytz,
L. Vines, U. Bektas, P. Chekhonin, N. Klingner, G. Hlawacek, A. Kuznetsov,
Universal radiation tolerant semiconductor (2023),
doi:10.48550/ARXIV.2303.13114.