Exfoliation mechanism of AlGaN-based thin films using heated-pressurized water

Abstract This study investigated the crystallographic plane dependence of the reaction of AlN and AlGaN using heated-pressurized water under saturated vapor pressure. The results show that the reaction strongly depends on the crystallographic orientation plane, with no reaction in the + c- plane, the formation of an AlOOH-altered layer in the − c- plane, and etching in the a- and m- planes. These results suggest that the exfoliation mechanism of AlGaN grown on periodically formed AlN nanopillars on sapphire substrates using heated-pressurized water involves etching of a- and m -plane crystals, demonstrating that the proposed method is highly reproducible and versatile for large-diameter wafer exfoliation.