Experimental Analysis and Computational Modeling of Residual Stress in β-Ga₂O₃ Thin Films Grown on Si by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Gallium oxide is becoming increasingly attractive as a next-generation material for semiconductor appli cations, prompting the need for e cient and economical techniques for thin- lm fabrication, especially on non-native substrates. In this work, β-Ga2O3 lms with a thickness of 0.25 µm were grown on a silicon substrate via radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray di rac tion analysis con rmed the good crystalline quality of the synthesized β-Ga2O3 lms. The mechanical stresses in the β-Ga2O3/Si heterostructure were measured using X-ray di raction. A comparative anal ysis with simulated data obtained via nite element modeling demonstrated good correlation between experiment and theory.