A New Method for Growth and Analysis of Next-generation Ir Detector Materials

This paper describes the development of a new analysis and crystal growth method for next generation infrared materials, namely, dilute nitride III-V semiconductors, which may be used in future low-cost night vision systems. The key to this method is isotopic enrichment of nitrogen-15 during material growth via molecular beam epitaxy, which allows enhanced detection of nitrogen using resonant nuclear reaction analysis. Films of GaAsN have been synthesized using nitrogen gas enriched in nitrogen-15, and examined using x-ray diffraction, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and nuclear reaction analysis. This analysis has confirmed the incorporation of nitrogen-15 into the material corresponds with the expected enrichment of the feed gas, and opens up the possibility of examining the material using ion beam channeling methods to ascertain the lattice position of the incorporated nitrogen atoms.