ELECTRON-SPIN-RESONANCE ANALYSIS OF LATTICE-DEFECTS IN POLYCRYSTALLINE ALUMINUM NITRIDE

Electron spin resonance was used in the present study to detect lattic e defects in an aluminum nitride lattice, The ESR spectra were obtaine d from pola crystalline AIN with various thermal conductivities. Measu rement of the AIN g values clearly indicated that the obtained ESR sig nals arose from electrons trapped by nitrogen vacancies, The ESR study revealed that thermal conductivity increases with an increase in the number of electrons trapped by nitrogen vacancies. The explanation for that phenomenon is that the thermal conductivity of AIN increases wit h a decreasing concentration of oxygen impurities incorporated into th e UN lattice. and the concentration of nitrogen vacancies changes inve rsely with the concentration of oxygen impurities.