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We study the structural and free-charge carrier properties of two sets of InN films grown by molecular beam epitaxy doped with different Mg concentrations from 1x1018 cm-3 to 3.9x1021 cm-3. We determine the effect of Mg doping on surface morphology, lattice parameters, structural characteristics and carrier properties. We show that infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used to evidence successful p-type doping in InN, which is an important issue in InN. High resolution X-ray diffraction, combined with atomic force microscopy measurements reveals a drastic decrease in structural quality of the film for Mg concentrations above 1020 cm-3, accompanied with a significant increase in surface roughness. In addition, a decrease of the c-lattice parameter and an increase of the a-lattice parameter are found with increasing Mg concentration. Different contributions to the strain are discussed and it is suggested that the incorporation of Mg leads to a change of growth mode and generation of tensile growth strain. At high Mg concentrations zinc-blende InN inclusions appear which are suggested to originate from higher densities of stacking faults. Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis shows a reduced LPP-coupling, manifested as a characteristic dip in the IRSE data, and qualitatively different broadening behavior for Mg concentrations between 1.1x1018 cm−3 and 2.9x1019 cm−3 indicate the existence of a p-type conducting bulk InN layer for these Mg concentrations.

Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry is applied to investigate the free-charge carrier properties of Mg-doped InN films. Two representative sets of In-polar InN grown by molecular beam epitaxy with Mg concentrations ranging from 1.2 x 10(17) cm(-3) to 8 x 10(20) cm(-3) are compared. P-type conductivity is indicated for the Mg concentration range of 1 x 10(18) cm(-3) to 9 x 10(19) cm(-3) from a systematic investigation of the longitudinal optical phonon plasmon broadening and the mobility parameter in dependence of the Mg concentration. A parameterized model that accounts for the phonon-plasmon coupling is applied to determine the free-charge carrier concentration and mobility parameters in the doped bulk InN layer as well as the GaN template and undoped InN buffer layer for each sample. The free-charge carrier properties in the second sample set are consistent with the results determined in a comprehensive analysis of the first sample set reported earlier [Schoche et al., J. Appl. Phys. 113, 013502 (2013)]. In the second set, two samples with Mg concentration of 2.3 x 10(20) cm(-3) are identified as compensated n-type InN with very low electron concentrations which are suitable for further investigation of intrinsic material properties that are typically governed by high electron concentrations even in undoped InN. The compensated n-type InN samples can be clearly distinguished from the p-type conductive material of similar plasma frequencies by strongly reduced phonon plasmon broadening.

We have performed high-pressure Fourier transform infrared reflectance measurements on a freestanding InN thin film to determine the refractive index of wurtzite InN and its high-pressure rocksalt phase as a function of hydrostatic pressure. From a fit to the experimental refractive-index curves including the effect of the high-energy optical gaps, phonons, free carriers, and the direct (fundamental) band-gap in the case of wurtzite InN, we obtain pressure coefficients for the lowfrequency (electronic) dielectric constant e1 . Negative pressure coefficients of -8.8 × 10-2 GPa-1 and -14.8 × 10-2 GPa-1 are obtained for the wurtzite and rocksalt phases, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of the electronic band structure and the compressibility of both phases.

We present an experimental and theoretical lattice-dynamical study of InN at high hydrostatic pressures. We perform Raman scattering measurements on five InN epilayers, with different residual strain and free electron concentrations. The experimental results are analyzed in terms of ab initio lattice-dynamical calculations on both wurtzite InN (w-InN) and rocksalt InN (rs-InN) as a function of pressure. Experimental and theoretical pressure coefficients of the optical modes in w-InN are compared, and the role of residual strain on the measured pressure coefficients is analyzed. In the case of the LO band, we analyze and discuss its pressure behavior considering the double-resonance mechanism responsible for the selective excitation of LO phonons with large wave vectors in w-InN. The pressure behavior of the L− coupled mode observed in a heavily doped n-type sample allows us to estimate the pressure dependence of the electron effective mass in w-InN. The results thus obtained are in good agreement with k⋅p theory. The wurtzite-to-rocksalt phase transition on the upstroke cycle and the rocksalt-to-wurtzite backtransition on the downstroke cycle are investigated, and the Raman spectra of both phases are interpreted in terms of DFT lattice-dynamical calculations. ©2013 American Physical Society

We present an experimental and theoretical lattice-dynamical study of InN at high hydrostatic pressures. We perform Raman scattering measurements on five InN epilayers, with different residual strain and free electron concentrations. The experimental results are analyzed in terms of ab initio lattice-dynamical calculations on both wurtzite InN (w-InN) and rocksalt InN (rs-InN) as a function of pressure. Experimental and theoretical pressure coefficients of the optical modes in w-InN are compared, and the role of residual strain on the measured pressure coefficients is analyzed. In the case of the LO band, we analyze and discuss its pressure behavior considering the double-resonance mechanism responsible for the selective excitation of LO phonons with large wave vectors in w-InN. The pressure behavior of the L- coupled mode observed in a heavily doped n-type sample allows us to estimate the pressure dependence of the electron effective mass in w-InN. The results thus obtained are in good agreement with k·p theory. The wurtzite-to-rocksalt phase transition on the upstroke cycle and the rocksalt-to-wurtzite backtransition on the downstroke cycle are investigated, and the Raman spectra of both phases are interpreted in terms of DFT lattice-dynamical calculations. © 2013 American Physical Society.

In this work, we present a comprehensive study on the hydrogen impurity depth profiles in InN films with polar c-plane and nonpolar a-plane surface orientations in relation to their structural and free-electron properties. We find that the as-grown nonpolar films exhibit generally higher bulk and near-surface H concentrations compared to the polar InN counter-parts. The latter may be partly associated with a change in the growth mode from 2D to 3D and a decrease in the grain size. Thermal annealing leads to a reduction of H concentrations and the intrinsic H levels are influenced by the structural characteristics of the films. The factors allowing reduction of bulk H and free electron concentrations in a-plane films are discussed., Funding Agencies|FCT Portugal|PTDC/FIS/100448/2008|Swedish Research Council (VR)|2010-3848

We have studied the temperature dependence and anharmonic coupling of the local vibrational modes (LVMs) associated with Mg-H complexes in heavily doped InN:Mg. Two main LVM peaks are observed which are probably related to two different H-impurity bond lengths. The temperature dependence of the higher-frequency mode, which exhibits a monotonic frequency downshift and broadening with increasing temperature, can be explained by LVM dephasing due to acoustic phonon scattering. The lower-frequency mode displays an anomalous behavior as its frequency decreases initially and then starts to increase linearly above room temperature. The anharmonic coupling of the lower-frequency mode to a molecular mode of the impurity complex is suggested as a possible cause for this behavior. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4749266]