Dielectric function in the NIR-VUV spectral range of (InxGa1-x)2O3 thin films

We determined the dielectric function of the alloy system (InxGa1−x)2O3 by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wide spectral range from 0.5 eV to 8.5 eV and for In contents ranging from x = 0.02 to x = 0.61. The predicted optical transitions for binary, monoclinic β-Ga2O3, and cubic bcc-In2O3 are well reflected by the change of the dielectric functions’ lineshape as a function of the In content. In an intermediate composition range with phase-separated material (x ≈ 0.3…0.4), the lineshape differs considerably, which we assign to the presence of the high-pressure rhombohedral InGaO3-II phase, which we also observe in Raman experiments in this range. By model analysis of the dielectric function, we derived spectra of the refractive index and the absorption coefficient and energy parameters of electronic band-band transitions. We discuss the sub-band gap absorption tail in relation to the influence of the In 4d orbitals on the valence bands. The data presented here provide a basis for a deeper understanding of the electronic properties of this technologically important material system and may be useful for device engineering