Investigation of diffusion mechanism of beryllium in GaN

Diffusion mechanism of beryllium in gallium nitride was investigated by analyzing temperature-dependent diffusion profiles from an infinite source. Beryllium atoms were implanted into a high structural quality gallium nitride layer crystallized by halide vapor phase epitaxy on an ammonothermal gallium nitride substrate. Post-implantation annealing was performed at different temperatures, between 1000 °C and 1400 °C, under high nitrogen pressure. Beryllium profiles were analyzed in the as-implanted and annealed samples by secondary ion mass spectrometry. It was shown that the diffusion of the dopant results from the combination of two mechanisms: rapid interstitial and slow interstitial-substitutional diffusion. The pre-exponential factor as well as activation energy for both diffusion paths were determined. Moreover, from the characteristic features of beryllium depth profiles, the formation energies of gallium vacancy and beryllium in interstitial position were calculated and compared to the theoretical values. •Diffusion coefficient of Be in GaN has been established.•Equilibrium solubility limit of Be in GaN has been determined.•Concentration-dependent diffusion mechanism of Be in GaN explained.•Formation energy of Ga vacancy in GaN determined.