The band-gap bowing of AlxGa1−xN alloys

Abstract

The band gap of AlxGa1−xN is measured for the composition range 0⩽x<0.45; the resulting bowing parameter, b=+0.69 eV, is compared to 20 previous works. A correlation is found between the measured band gaps and the methods used for epitaxial growth of the AlxGa1−xN: directly nucleated or buffered growths of AlxGa1−xN initiated on sapphire at temperatures T>800 °C usually lead to stronger apparent bowing (b>+1.3 eV); while growths initiated using low-temperature buffers on sapphire, followed by high-temperature growth, lead to weaker bowing (b<+1.3 eV). Extant data suggest that the intrinsic band-gap bowing parameter for AlGaN alloys is b=+0.62(±0.45) eV.