Epilayers which had been grown by means of molecular beam epitaxy, using NH3 as the N source, were found to contain H. The background electron concentration could be

correlated with the amount of H contaminant. The use of X-ray photo-electron spectroscopic measurements of the N 1s peak revealed that the H was bound to N. This caused the corresponding Ga atom to see an insufficient N counterpart, as could be deduced from the X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy Ga 3d spectrum. It was suggested that N in the lattice, terminated by H, was an effective N vacancy and donor; thus accounting for the background electrons.

Hydrogen Contaminant and its Correlation with Background Electrons in GaN. J.P.Zhang, D.Z.Sun, X.L.Wang, M.Y.Kong, Y.P.Zeng, J.M.Li, L.Y.Lin: Semiconductor Science and Technology, 1999, 14[5], 403-5