Comparative study of radiation tolerance of GaN and Ga2O3 polymorphs

The mechanisms of ion-induced defect formation and physical characteristics promoting radiation tolerance of wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors are not well-studied and understood. In contrast to gallium nitride (GaN), gallium oxide (Ga 2 O 3 ) can be crystallized in several polymorphs having different crystal structures and physical properties. In the preset paper, the damage buildup in wurtzite GaN as well as in corundum ( α -) and monoclinic ( β -) Ga 2 O 3 polymorphs bombarded at room temperature with 40 keV P + ions is studied by Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectrometry. We demonstrate that ion-beam-induced damage formation in Ga 2 O 3 is different from that observed in GaN and dramatically depends on the polymorph type. Both Ga 2 O 3 polymorphs cannot be rendered amorphous and exhibit considerably higher damage saturation at ∼90% of the full amorphization as compared to that of GaN. Intriguing enough the metastable α -Ga 2 O 3 demonstrates considerably higher radiation resistance as compared to the most thermodynamically stable β -Ga 2 O 3 polymorph. Furthermore, our results indicate that the sample surface and dynamic annealing play a significant role in the ion-induced damage formation processes in all Ga-based compounds studied. • Kinetics of ion irradiation damage accumulation in α- and β-Ga 2 O 3 and GaN is studied. • α -Ga 2 O 3 is more susceptible to radiation damage than GaN. • α -Ga 2 O 3 is considerably higher radiation resistant then the stable β -Ga 2 O 3 . • Mechanisms of radiation damage formation in the α - and β -Ga 2 O 3 are different.