Lattice Location Studies of the Amphoteric Nature of Implanted Mg in GaN

Despite the renewed interest in ion implantation doping of GaN, efficient electrical activation remains a challenge. The lattice location of 27Mg is investigated in GaN of different doping types as a function of implantation temperature and fluence at CERN's ISOLDE facility. The amphoteric nature of Mg is elucidated, i.e., the concurrent occupation of substitutional Ga and interstitial sites: following room temperature ultra‐low fluence (≈2 × 1010 cm−2) implantation, the interstitial fraction of Mg is highest (20–24%) in GaN pre‐doped with stable Mg during growth, and lowest (2–6%) in n‐GaN:Si, while undoped GaN shows an intermediate interstitial fraction of 10–12%. Both for p‐ and n‐GaN prolonged implantations cause interstitial 27Mg to approach the levels found for undoped GaN. Implanting above 400 °C progressively converts interstitial Mg to substitutional Ga sites due to the onset of Mg interstitial migration (estimated activation energy 1.5–2.3 eV) and combination with Ga vacancies. In all sample types, implantations above a fluence of 1014 cm−2 result in >95% substitutional Mg. Ion implantation is hence a very efficient method to introduce Mg into substitutional Ga sites, i.e., challenges toward high electrical activation of implanted Mg are not related to lack of substitutional incorporation. The lattice location of 27Mg in different doping types of GaN is investigated as a detailed function of implantation temperature up to 800 °C and fluence up to >1014 cm−2. We elucidate the amphoteric nature of Mg, i.e., the concurrent occupation of substitutional Ga and interstitial sites, which is being interpreted within the framework of a Fermi‐level model.