Enhanced activation of Mg ion-implanted GaN at decreasing annealing temperature by prolonging duration

Defect time-evolution was investigated in Mg ion-implanted GaN after annealing at 1573 K for an unprecedentedly long duration. Transmission electron microscopy directly revealed that annealing for over 30 min reduced defects inhibiting Mg activation, just like annealing at 1753 K for a short duration. The cathodoluminescence intensity of donor-acceptor pair originating from Mg acceptors increased as the duration increased, and the intensity after annealing for 60 min was higher than after short-duration annealing at 1753 K. These show the potential of lowering the annealing temperature by prolonging the duration, which would lead to practical annealing technology for Mg ion-implanted GaN.