High temperature annealing of n-type bulk β-Ga2O3: Electrical compensation and defect analysis—The role of gallium vacancies

The effect of high temperature annealing under O2 and N2 atmospheres on the electrical properties and defect formation on Sn doped n-type β-Ga2O3 bulk samples was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. EPR, being a volume sensitive technique, probes the entire sample volume. Our results show an electrical compensation being correlated with the formation of a negatively charged Ga vacancy defect VGa2−. This VGa center is different from the one observed after particle irradiation. The associated shift of the Fermi level reveals the presence of Fe3+, Cu2+, and Cr3+, which are residuals related to the growth conditions. The 1100 °C N2 annealed sample is fully compensated, and the neutral donor resonance is no longer observed. Our results directly confirm the thermal instability of Ga and Sn in n-type conducting samples. No oxygen vacancy related centers were detected. We discuss the various Ga vacancy centers reported previously.