We present a detailed study of the thermal evolution of H ion-induced vacancy related complexes and voids in bulk GaN implanted under ion-cut conditions. By using transmission electron microscopy, we found that the damage band in as-implanted GaN is decorated with a high density of nanobubbles of ∼1-2nm in diameter. Variable energy Doppler broadening spectroscopy showed that this band contains vacancy clusters and voids. In addition to vacancy clusters, the presence of VGa, VGa -H2, and VGaVN complexes was evidenced by pulsed low-energy positron lifetime spectroscopy. Subtle changes upon annealing in these vacancy complexes were also investigated. As a general trend, a growth in open-volume defects is detected in parallel to an increase in both size and density of nanobubbles. The observed vacancy complexes appear to be stable during annealing. However, for temperatures above 450°C, unusually large lifetimes were measured. These lifetimes are attributed to the formation of positronium in GaN. Since the formation of positronium is not possible in a dense semiconductor, our finding demonstrates the presence of sufficiently large open-volume defects in this temperature range. Based on the Tao-Eldrup model, the average lattice opening during thermal annealing was quantified. We found that a void diameter of 0.4 nm is induced by annealing at 600°C. The role of these complexes in the subsurface microcracking is discussed. © 2010 The American Physical Society.    «

We present a detailed study of the thermal evolution of H ion-induced vacancy related complexes and voids in bulk GaN implanted under ion-cut conditions. By using transmission electron microscopy, we found that the damage band in as-implanted GaN is decorated with a high density of nanobubbles of ∼1-2nm in diameter. Variable energy Doppler broadening spectroscopy showed that this band contains vacancy clusters and voids. In addition to vacancy clusters, the presence of VGa, VGa -H2, and VGaVN co...    »