Experimental evidence of homonuclear bonds in amorphous GaN

Although GaN is an important semiconductor material, its amorphous structures are not well understood. Currently, theoretical atomistic structural models which contradict each other, are proposed for the chemical short-range order of amorphous GaN: one characterizes amorphous GaN networks as highly chemically ordered, consisting of heteronuclear Ga-N atomic bonds; and the other predicts the existence of a large number of homonuclear bonds within the first coordination shell. In the present study, we examine amorphous structures of GaN via radial distribution functions obtained by electron diffraction techniques. The experimental results demonstrate that amorphous GaN networks consist of heterononuclear Ga-N bonds, as well as homonuclear Ga-Ga and N-N bonds. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3552987]

尽管氮化镓（GaN）是一种重要的半导体材料，但其非晶结构尚未被充分了解。目前，针对非晶氮化镓的化学短程有序性提出了相互矛盾的理论原子结构模型：一种将非晶氮化镓网络描述为高度化学有序，由异核的镓 - 氮原子键组成；另一种则预测在第一配位层内存在大量的同核键。在本研究中，我们通过电子衍射技术获得的径向分布函数来研究氮化镓的非晶结构。实验结果表明，非晶氮化镓网络由异核的镓 - 氮键以及同核的镓 - 镓键和氮 - 氮键组成。（C）2011美国物理学会。[doi: 10.1063/1.3552987]