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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

Polar Wurtzite NbAlN: A Transition‐Metal Nitride Alloy for Polarization‐Engineered GaN Heterostructures

  • Atsushi Kobayashi1
  • Souta Kurogi1
  • Tomoya Okuda1
  • Riku Kikuchi1
  • Yusuke Wakamoto2
  • Kouei Kubota2
  • Hikaru Sasaki2
  • Kazuhisa Ikeda1
  • Kanako Shojiki3,4
  • Takahiro Kawamura3,4
  • Toru Akiyama3,4
  • Takehito Seki5
1 more authors
  • Takuya Maeda2
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Materials Science and Technology Tokyo University of Science Tokyo Japan
  2. 2Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
  3. 3Innovation Center for Semiconductor and Digital Future Mie University Mie Japan
  4. 4Graduate School of Engineering Mie University Mie Japan
  5. 5Institute of Engineering Innovation School of Engineering The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
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Abstract

The discovery of ferroelectric ScAlN sparked a search for new polar wurtzite alloys; however, incorporating transition metals remains a formidable challenge. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of wurtzite‐phase NbAlN, a polar transition‐metal nitride alloy that is highly compatible with GaN‐based heterostructures. Despite the strong metallic character of elemental Nb, we achieved coherent epitaxial NbAlN films that preserve the wurtzite crystal structure and metal polarity of the underlying GaN, as directly visualized by annular bright‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy. Nb incorporation induces a monotonic lattice expansion and produces coherent Nb‐enriched nanoscale regions that are accommodated within the continuous wurtzite framework. Functionally, NbAlN barriers induce a substantial enhancement in the two‐dimensional electron gas density at the AlN/GaN heterointerface, consistent with polarization‐related carrier modulation by the metal‐polar NbAlN barrier. This study demonstrates that d‐electron transition metals can be integrated into polar nitride systems without compromising their functional asymmetry, making NbAlN a promising building block for polar nitride heterostructures and carrier‐density‐engineered GaN electronics.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{kobayashi2026polar,
  title = {{Polar Wurtzite NbAlN: A Transition‐Metal Nitride Alloy for Polarization‐Engineered GaN Heterostructures}},
  author = {Atsushi Kobayashi and Souta Kurogi and Tomoya Okuda and Riku Kikuchi and Yusuke Wakamoto and Kouei Kubota and Hikaru Sasaki and Kazuhisa Ikeda and Kanako Shojiki and Takahiro Kawamura and Toru Akiyama and Takehito Seki and Takuya Maeda},
  journal = {Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1002/adma.74756},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.74756},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Polar Wurtzite NbAlN: A Transition‐Metal Nitride Alloy for Polarization‐Engineered GaN Heterostructures
AU  - Atsushi Kobayashi
AU  - Souta Kurogi
AU  - Tomoya Okuda
AU  - Riku Kikuchi
AU  - Yusuke Wakamoto
AU  - Kouei Kubota
AU  - Hikaru Sasaki
AU  - Kazuhisa Ikeda
AU  - Kanako Shojiki
AU  - Takahiro Kawamura
AU  - Toru Akiyama
AU  - Takehito Seki
AU  - Takuya Maeda
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/03
JO  - Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
DO  - 10.1002/adma.74756
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.74756
AB  - The discovery of ferroelectric ScAlN sparked a search for new polar wurtzite alloys; however, incorporating transition metals remains a formidable challenge. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of wurtzite‐phase NbAlN, a polar transition‐metal nitride alloy that is highly compatible with GaN‐based heterostructures. Despite the strong metallic character of elemental Nb, we achieved coherent epitaxial NbAlN films that preserve the wurtzite crystal structure and metal polarity of the underlying GaN, as directly visualized by annular bright‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy. Nb incorporation induces a monotonic lattice expansion and produces coherent Nb‐enriched nanoscale regions that are accommodated within the continuous wurtzite framework. Functionally, NbAlN barriers induce a substantial enhancement in the two‐dimensional electron gas density at the AlN/GaN heterointerface, consistent with polarization‐related carrier modulation by the metal‐polar NbAlN barrier. This study demonstrates that d‐electron transition metals can be integrated into polar nitride systems without compromising their functional asymmetry, making NbAlN a promising building block for polar nitride heterostructures and carrier‐density‐engineered GaN electronics.
SN  - 0935-9648
SN  - 1521-4095
ER  -