AVS 45th International Symposium
    Electronic Materials and Processing Division Thursday Sessions
       Session EM-ThP

Paper EM-ThP6
Boron Phosphide Films Grown by Solid-Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Thursday, November 5, 1998, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A

Session: Electronic Materials and Processing Poster Session
Presenter: D. Buchenauer, Sandia National Laboratories
Authors: D. Buchenauer, Sandia National Laboratories
D. Dibble, Sandia National Laboratories
K.F. McCarty, Sandia National Laboratories
J.C. Lund, Sandia National Laboratories
R.J. Anderson, Sandia National Laboratories
M. Clift, Sandia National Laboratories
D.L. Medlin, Sandia National Laboratories
J.A. Schneider, Sandia National Laboratories
Correspondent: Click to Email
A significant improvement in the detection of thermal neutrons could be made through the use of zinc blende boron phosphide (BP) as the detection medium in a solid-state neutron detector. Earlier work on the growth of BP using vapor transport,@footnote 1@ flux growth,@footnote 2@ and chemical vapor deposition@footnote 2@ has produced crystalline material of the required thickness, however, autodoping of the BP has been too high to allow their use in neutron detection. Recent progress on the growth of amorphous films using Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) has led to nearly stoichiometric films with improved electrical properties.@footnote 3@ Here we report on the first growth of BP films using electron beam evaporation of boron and thermal cracking of phosphorus vapor by a three-cell EPI cracker. Stoichiometric films have been grown at substrate temperatures as low as 300°C. The relationship between the electronic and microstructural properties of the BP films and their performance as solid-state neutron detectors will be examined. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@T. L. Chu, J. M. Jackson, and R. K. Smeltzer, J. Crystal Growth 15 (1972) 254. @footnote 2@Y. Kumashiro, J. Mater. Res. 5 (1990) 2993. @footnote 3@Y. Kumashiro, T. Yokoyama, T. Sakamoto, and T. Fujita, J. Solid State Chemistry 133 (1997) 269.