Magnetron-sputter deposition of high-indium-content n-AlInN thin film on p-Si(001) substrate for photovoltaic applications

Al0.278In0.722N thin films have been grown on p-type Si(001) and c-plane sapphire substrates by employing radio-frequency magnetron-sputter deposition at elevated temperatures. High-resolution x-ray diffraction, as well as pole-figure measurements, reveals no phase separation of the thin films. The Al0.278In0.722N film grown on p-Si(001) substrate is a typical fiber-texture with AlInN(0001)//Si(001) while that on the c-sapphire exhibits the onset of epitaxy. Microscopic studies reveal that the growth is dominated by a columnar mechanism and the average columnar grain diameter is about 31.5 and 50.8 nm on p-Si(001) and c-sapphire substrates, respectively. Photoluminescence at room-temperature exhibits a strong emission peak at 1.875 eV, smaller than the optical absorption edge (2.102 eV) but larger than the theoretical bandgap energy (1.70 eV), which is attributable to the band-filling effect, as is supported by the high electron density of 4.5 × 1020 cm−3. The n-Al0.278In0.722N/p-Si(001) heterostructure is tested for solar cells and the results are discussed based on the I-V characteristics and their fittings.