Fractal analyses of AlxGa1−xN thin film surfaces on AlN at different annealing temperatures

Abstract The determination of heteromorphological structures formed on the surface during annealing of AlxGa1-xN thin film grown on sapphire substrate using the metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique at different temperatures was investigated by fractal analysis method. The images of the surfaces of the thin films were taken by atomic force microscopy (AFM) at temperatures of 900, 1000, 1050 and 1200 °C respectively. AFM images were digitised in bitmap format according to the annealing temperatures. It was determined that the fractal dimensions obtained a linear correlation with the annealing temperatures. The results confirm the hypothesis that surface relaxation by the thermal action can produce fractal-like structures at particle or cluster boundaries. It is found that the observed cluster formation of superficial particles decreases as increasing temperature. The increase in temperature reduces the rate of superficial particle coating. To determine the surface roughness of the AlxGa1-xN thin film according to the annealing temperature, the AFM images were digitized in tagged image file format and the statistical root mean square, mean value, mean roughness, skewness and kurtosis values of the films were calculated. The roughness is a result of the thin film surface heteromorphology formed due to the specific annealing process. It is proved that the fractal dimensions of the AlxGa1-xN thin film increase as the annealing temperature rises. The particles coalesce on the surface and cluster in different types and sizes at each different annealing temperature, forming islets of different sizes. The skewness and kurtosis values show a different and irregular change.