Ring, chain, and cluster compounds in the Cl-Ga-N-H system

The formation of gas-phase oligomer compounds in the Cl-Ga-N-H system is considered using hybrid Hartree-Fock/density functional theory and a polarized double-zeta quality basis set. Geometric parameters, vibrational frequencies, and thermodynamic characteristics for the Cl(3)GaNH(3) adduct, its dissociation products GaCl(n), NH(n), (n= 1-3), the amidochlorogallanes Cl(2)GaNH(2)](n) (n = 1-3), their donor-acceptor complexes with GaCl(3) and NH(3), and the imidochlorogallanes ClGaNH](n) (n = 1-4,6) have been obtained. Generation of amidochlorogallanes is expected to be viable during laser assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at low temperatures. High-temperature association processes in the gas phase during the CVD of GaN from the Cl(3)GaNH(3) adduct are predicted to be less important, in contrast to previous findings for the aluminum analogue. This difference may be explained in terms of a much lower Ga-N bond energy compared to Al-N in the ring and cluster compounds.