Activating Mg acceptors in AlN by oxygen: first principles calculations

First principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) are performed to study the electronic properties of Mg acceptors in AlN at the presence of oxygen. It is found that Mg and O tend to form complexes like Mg-O, Mg${}_2$-O, Mg${}_3$-O and Mg${}_4$-O which have activation energies about 0.23 eV lower than that of Mg (except of the passive Mg-O). The lower activation energies originate from the extra states over valence band top of AlN induced by the passive Mg-O. By comparing to the well-established case of GaN, it is possible to fabricate Mg and O codoped AlN without MgO precipitate. These results suggest the possibility of achieving higher hole concentration in AlN by Mg and O codoping.