Short-range order controlled amphoteric behavior of the Si dopant in Al-rich AlGaN

Short-range order controlled amphoteric behavior of the Si dopant in Al-rich AlGaN | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Short-range order controlled amphoteric behavior of the Si dopant in Al-rich AlGaN Filip Tuomisto, Igor Prozheev, Rene Bes, Ilja Makkonen, Marcel Schilling, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5580951/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 30 May, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract AlGaN alloys with high Al content offer the possibility to create deep ultraviolet (UV) light sources emitting at wavelengths ≤ 240 nm with enhanced quantum efficiency. However, pushing the limits of the band gap energies towards higher values leads to problems with n-type doping of AlGaN alloys with the standard choice of Si donors when the Al content surpasses ∼80 %. This is due to the formation of the so-called negative Si DX center where the Si-N bond is ruptured, followed by a displacement of the N atom. In this paper, we show that the amphoteric nature of the Si dopant in AlGaN alloys is fundamentally controlled by the local environment and the ordering of the Ga and Al atoms in the vicinity of the Si atom. Our conclusions are based on advanced characterization sensitive to the local environment of defects and impurities: positron annihilation spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Electronic structure calculations complete the picture. As our experiments show that the presence of Ga in the vicinity of Si controls the donor character of the latter in high Al content AlGaN, we propose that spatial ordering of these atoms could allow efficient n-type doping at even higher Al contents, including AlN. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for devices/Electronic devices Physical sciences/Physics/Applied physics Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Semiconductors Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files AlGaNmanuscriptSI.pdf Short-range order controlled amphoteric behavior of the Si dopant in Al-rich AlGaN Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 30 May, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5580951","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":393230240,"identity":"7cf7d4df-f9a5-4360-a2cb-57cea05832c6","order_by":0,"name":"Filip 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