Mechanical Properties of Gallium Nitride and Related Materials

Abstract

ABSTRACTBasic mechanical properties, such as hardness and fracture toughness are examined for GaN and related materials. The mechanical properties are explored by indentation with a diamond (Vickers) pyramid under less than 20N load. Testing on bulk single crystal GaN indicated hardness and fracture toughness similar to GaP, but with much greater values than GaAs. Data for compound semiconductors are compared with values of a number of substrate materials. The following materials are examined in bulk form: AlN, Al2O3 (sapphire), Al2O3-TiC (ALTIC), GaAs, GaN, GaP, Ge, Si, SiC, ZnS, and ZnSe.