Optical activity and phase transformations in γ/β Ga2O3 bilayers under annealing

Abstract: Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) can be crystallized in several polymorphs exhibiting different physical properties. In this work, polymorphic structures consisting of the cubic defective spinel (gamma) film on the top of the monoclinic (beta) substrate were fabricated by disorder-induced ordering, known to be a practical way to stack these polymorphs together. Such bilayer structures were annealed to investigate the optical properties and phase transformations. Specifically, photoluminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies were combined with transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectrometry and x-ray diffraction to monitor the evolutions. As a result we observe a two-stage annealing kinetics in gamma/beta Ga2O3 bilayers associated with the epitaxial gamma-to-beta regrowth at the interface at temperatures below 700 {\deg}C and a non-planar gamma-to-beta phase transformation starting at higher temperatures. Thus, the present data enhance understanding of the polymorphism in Ga2O3, interconnecting the phase transformation kinetics with the evolution of the optical properties.