Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry from the mid-infrared (mid-ir) to the vacuum-ultraviolet (vuv) spectral range (350 cm−1 … 8.8 eV) is used to study the optical properties of hexagonal MOVPE-grown Al1−xInxN films for 0.11 ≤ × ≤ 0.21. The AlInN E1(TO) phonon shows a onemode behavior in contrast to recent theoretical predictions [H. Grille, Ch. Schnittler, and F. Bechstedt, Phys. Rev. B 61, 6091 (2000)]. Approximately 120 nm thick Al1−xInxN films grown on slightly compressively strained hexagonal GaN buffer layers reveal the influence of in-plane strain on the E1(TO) phonon mode frequencies. Al1−xInxN deposited directly on [0001] sapphire substrate possesses E1(TO) mode frequency which indicate fully relaxed film growth. For highquality Al0.890In0.110N one A1(LO) phonon mode was observed. Furthermore, we present the complex dielectric function of hexagonal Al0.872In0.128N from the mid-ir to vuv spectral range.