Gas Phase Chemistry in Gallium Nitride CVD: Theoretical Determination of the Arrhenius Parameters for the First Ga−C Bond Homolysis of Trimethylgallium

Analysis of the Gas Phase Kinetics Active during GaN Deposition from NH3 and Ga(CH3)3

The results of a systematic investigation aimed at determining the dominant gas phase chemistry active during GaN MOVPE are reported and discussed in this work. This study was performed developing a thermodynamic database including the most stable GaN gas phase species and a gas phase mechanism that could efficiently describe their interconversion kinetics. The thermodynamic data and the kinetic mechanism were calculated combining density functional theory and ab initio simulations. Structures and vibrational frequencies of reactants and transition states were determined at the M062X/6-311+G(d,p) level, while energies were computed at the ROCBS-QB3 level. Rate constants were calculated using transition state theory using the rigid rotor - harmonic oscillator approximation and considering the possible degeneration of internal motions in torsional rotations. The thermodynamic analysis indicated that the Ga gas phase species formed in the highest concentration at the standard GaN deposition temperature (1300 K) is GaNH2, followed by GaH and Ga. The diatomic GaN gas phase species, often considered to be the main precursor to the film growth, is predicted to be unstable with respect to GaNH2. Among the gas phase species containing two Ga atoms, the most stable are GaNHGaH(NH2)3, GaNHGaH2(NH2)2, and GaNHGa(NH2)4, thus indicating that the substitution of the methyl groups of the precursor with H or amino groups is thermodynamically favored. Several kinetic routes leading to the formation of these species were examined. It was found that the condensation of Ga(R1)x(R2)3-x species, with R1 and R2 being either CH3, NH2, or H, is a fast process, characterized by the formation of a precursor state whose decomposition to products requires overcoming submerged energy barriers. It is suggested that these species play a key role in the formation of the first GaN nuclei, whose successive growth leads to the formation of GaN powders. A kinetic analysis performed using a fluid dynamic model allowed us to identify the main reactive routes of this complex system.

A quantum chemical study on gas phase decomposition pathways of triethylgallane (TEG, Ga(C2H5)3) and tert-butylphosphine (TBP, PH2(t-C4H9)) under MOVPE conditions

Gas phase decomposition products of MOVPE precursor molecules TEG and TBP were identified via thermodynamic and kinetic data from a catalogue of 61 elementary reactions as calculated by quantum chemical methods.

Computational study on the growth of gallium nitride and a possible source of oxygen impurity

The reaction pathways for the gallium nitride GaN growth by gas phase reaction of trimethylgallium (TMG) with ammonia is studied theoretically. Water is the most important impurity in ammonia, therefore its reaction with TMG is investigated as a possible source of oxygen impurity in GaN. Gallium oxide (GaO) formed by the reaction between TMG and H(2)O is predicted to be one of the possible source of oxygen impurity in GaN. The mechanisms and energetics of these reactions in the gas phase have been investigated by density functional B3LYP/[LANL2DZ-ECP + 6-31G(d,p)] method and ab initio MP2/[LANL2DZ-ECP + 6-31G(d,p)], CCSD(T)/[LANL2DZ-ECP + 6-31G(d,p)]//B3LYP/[LANL2DZ-ECP + 6-31G(d,p)], CCSD(T)/[LANL2DZ-ECP + 6-31G(d,p)]//MP2/[LANL2DZ-ECP + 6-31G(d,p)], and CCSD(T)/[LANL2DZ-ECP + Ahlrichs-VTZP]//MP2/[LANL2DZ-ECP + Ahlrichs-VTZP] methods. Both the reactions of TMG with NH(3) and H(2)O are modeled using pre-equilibrium charge-transfer complexes (CH(3))(3)Ga:NH(3) (C1) and (CH(3))(3)Ga:OH(2) (C2) having binding energies of 18.8 and 12.4 kcal/mol, respectively. The first step of the methane elimination reaction from the complexes proceeds through the saddle points TS1 and TS1a having activation barriers 37.0 and 22.6 kcal/mol for C1 and C2, respectively. The first CH(4) elimination step is exothermic for both the cases, but the exothermicity is 15.0 kcal/mol greater for CH(4) elimination from C2. The next step of methane elimination from the stable reaction intermediates (CH(3))(2)GaNH(2) and (CH(3))(3)GaOH has a very high activation barrier of 76.0 and 67.8 kcal/mol via saddle points TS2 and TS2a, respectively. The calculated reaction rates at 298.15 K for both the reactions are low but are comparable to each other. The total rate constant k(tot) for GaN formation is 2.07 x 10(-60) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), and that for GaO formation is 6.85 x 10(-62) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1).

Thermal decomposition of trimethylgallium Ga(CH3)3: a shock-tube study and first-principles calculations

The thermal decomposition of Ga(CH3)3 has been studied both experimentally in shock-heated gases and theoretically within an ab-initio framework. Experiments for pressures ranging from 0.3 to 4 bar were performed in a shock tube equipped with atomic resonance absorption spectroscopy (ARAS) for Ga atoms at 403.3 nm. Time-resolved measurements of Ga atom concentrations were conducted behind incident waves as well as behind reflected shock waves at temperatures between 1210 and 1630 K. The temporal variation in Ga-atom concentration was described by a reaction mechanism involving the successive abstraction of methyl radicals from Ga(CH3)3 (R1), Ga(CH3)2 (R2), and GaCH3 (R3), respectively, where the last reaction is the rate-limiting step leading to Ga-atom formation. The rate constant of this reaction (R3) was deduced from a simulation of the measured Ga-atom concentration profiles using thermochemical data from ab-initio calculations for the reactions R1 and R2 as input. The Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) method including variational transition state theory was applied for reaction R3 assuming a loose transition state. Structural parameters and vibrational frequencies of the reactant and transition state required for the RRKM calculations were obtained from first-principles simulations. The energy barrier E3(0) of reaction R3, which is the most sensitive parameter in the calculation, was adjusted until the RRKM rate constant matched the experimental one and was found to be E(0) = 288 kJ/mol. This value is in a good agreement with the corresponding ab-initio value of 266 kJ/mol. The rate constant of reaction R3 was found to be k 3/(cm(3) mol(-1)s(-1)) = 2.34 x 10(11) exp[-23330(K/ T)].

Mass-spectrometric monitoring of the thermally induced decomposition of trimethylgallium, tris(tert-butyl)gallium, and triethylantimony at low pressure conditions

The thermal decomposition of trimethylgallium (GaMe(3)), tris(tert-butyl)gallium (Ga(t)Bu(3)) and triethylantimony (SbEt(3)) was investigated in a tubular hot-wall reactor coupled with a molecular-beam sampling mass spectrometer, and decomposition mechanisms were proposed. The obtained results confirm the predominance of the surface reactions and reveal that the radical decomposition path of Ga(t)Bu(3) and SbEt(3), responsible for the formation of butane and ethane respectively, is restricted to a narrow temperature range in contrast to the molecular route that is responsible for the formation of the corresponding alkenes. GaMe(3) decomposes above 480 degrees C, forming essentially methane and also ethane to a lesser extent, whereas Ga(t)Bu(3) decomposes starting 260 degrees C to form predominantly i-butane and i-butene as major species. The decomposition of SbEt(3) starts at 400 degrees C and forms n-butane, ethane, and ethene. The selectivity to n-butane increases with the thermolysis temperature. The resulting activation energies of the relevant decomposition paths show good agreement with those among them that have been measured before by temperature-programmed desorption techniques.

Theoretical Investigation of the Gas-Phase Kinetics Active during the GaN MOVPE

Quantum chemistry investigations have been performed to study the gas-phase chemistry active during the MOVPE of GaN when Ga(CH3)(3) and NH3, diluted in a H2 carrier gas, are used as precursors. Optimized molecular geometries, energies, and transition-state structures of gas-phase species have been determined with density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311+g(d,p) level. On the basis of the similarity with the soot formation mechanism active during hydrocarbon combustion, we propose that in this system a gas-phase chemistry is active and its reactivity is enhanced by a radical chain mechanism started from methyl radicals. Initiation reactions are surface processes or the pyrolysis of Ga(CH3)(3). A propagation mechanism composed of fast radical reactions, most of which without an activation energy, was identified, and kinetic constants were determined for each step. The proposed mechanism is able to describe the formation of large GaN adducts formed by up to three R-Ga-NH units. These molecules can give fast cyclization reactions that lead to the formation of six-membered cyclic species, which, similar to benzene for combustion, are thermodynamically stable in vast temperature and pressure ranges and can thus be considered as the first GaN nuclei. We also found that the presence of H2 as a carrier gas can greatly enhance the rate of formation of gas-phase particles because it is a major source of atomic hydrogen, a promoter of gas-phase reactivity.