This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the development of a supersonic nozzle beam source of 'active nitrogen' to be used in the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of nitride materials. The approach involves 'seeding' a heavy (and relatively inert) nitrogen precursor gas in a light carrier gas and using supersonic expansion to accelerate the precursor molecules towards the substrate surface with an energy sufficient to cause bond dissociation. The resultant species would be a free radical and thus, highly reactive. Further variation of the translational kinetic energy of the nitrogen precursor species by use of different seeding gases will enhance the mobility of the metal and N species necessary to produce Group III nitride monocrystalline thin films with limited defects. This project represents a joint effort of Aerodyne Research, Inc. in collaboration with the Material Science and Engineering Department at North Carolina State University.
