A surface amorphized layer and a buried disordered structure were created in GaN, bombarded with 1MeV Au+ ions to fluences of 25 and 70/nm2 at room temperature. Bubbles of N2 gas formed in both amorphized and disordered GaN. A gradient profile with a lower N concentration in the amorphized region was observed; providing direct evidence of N loss by diffusion from the Au-bombarded GaN. These results were important to understanding the amorphization processes in GaN.

Direct Evidence of N Aggregation and Diffusion in Au+-Irradiated GaN. W.Jiang, Y.Zhang, W.J.Weber, J.Lian, R.C.Ewing: Applied Physics Letters, 2006, 89[2], 021903 (3pp)