Optimization of RF plasma sources for the MBE growth of nitride and dilute nitride semiconductor material

In this paper we present an investigation of the ion currents produced by two different commercial RF (radio-frequency) plasma sources, detected at the position of a sample during growth. We have measured ion currents for a range of gas flow rates, plasma powers and Ar/N 2 gas compositions and found that the two sources behave very differently under the conditions investigated. We have demonstrated that the method described in this paper is a very efficient procedure for finding the optimal conditions for the growth of a high-quality material, and that the switching of N 2 into an Ar plasma is a viable technique for the growth of a dilute nitride material.