AlGaAs film growth using thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) and determination of its physical properties

In this research, an AlGaAs film was deposited on a microscope slide by means of the thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) technique which is a novel plasma production technique. AlGaAs structures were grown by this deposition technique for the first time and this process occurred in a very short period of time. In order to characterize the produced film, nano-structural, nano-mechanical, optical, and surface properties were determined by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and interferometer. According to the results of the measurements, the mean thickness value of the produced film was obtained as 1.8 ?m. The band gap value was determined as 2eV from the Kubelka-Munk plot. The refractive index value was obtained as approximately 3.4. Hardness value was determined as 2 GPa from the Oliver-Pharr method. All these values are consistent with the reported values in the literature for the AlGaAs films produced by different methods. TVA technique appeared as a suitable and promising technique for the production of AlGaAs films. © 2015, Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg