Effects of morphologies on the field emission characteristics of GaN nanorods grown on Si (0 0 1) by MBE

GaN nanorods were grown on Si (0 0 1) substrates with a native oxide layer by molecular beam epitaxy. The changes in the morphologies and their effects on the field emission characteristics of GaN nanorods were investigated by varying growth conditions, namely, growth time of low-temperature GaN buffer layer, growth time of GaN nanorods, Ga flux during growth of GaN nanorods, and growth temperature of GaN nanorods. GaN nanorods with a low aspect ratio measured by diode configuration showed better field emission characteristics than those with a high aspect ratio, which may be due to the effects of screening and the surface depletion layer. In addition, the distance between the GaN nanorods and the anode played an important role in the field emission characteristics such as turn-on field, field enhancement factor, and field distribution on the emitter surface.     

The effects of annealing on non-polar (1 1 2¯ 0) a-plane GaN films

Non-polar a-plane (1 1 2¯ 0) GaN films were grown on r-plane sapphire by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy and were subsequently annealed for 90 min at 1070 °C. Most dislocations were partial dislocations, which terminated basal plane stacking faults. Prior to annealing, these dislocations were randomly distributed. After annealing, these dislocations moved into arrays oriented along the [0 0 0 1] direction and aligned perpendicular to the film–substrate interface throughout their length, although the total dislocation density remained unchanged. These changes were accompanied by broadening of the symmetric X-ray diffraction 1 1 2¯ 0 ω-scan widths. The mechanism of movement was identified as dislocation glide, occurring due to highly anisotropic stresses (confirmed by X-ray diffraction lattice parameter measurements) and evidenced by macroscopic slip bands observed on the sample surface. There was also an increase in the density of unintentionally n-type doped electrically conductive inclined features present at the film–substrate interface (as observed in cross-section using scanning capacitance microscopy), suggesting out-diffusion of impurities from the substrate along with prismatic stacking faults. These data suggest that annealing processes performed close to film growth temperatures can affect both the microstructure and the electrical properties of non-polar GaN films.     

GaN grown on (1 1 1) single crystal diamond substrate by molecular beam epitaxy

GaN epilayers are grown on (1 1 1) oriented single crystal diamond substrate by ammonia-source molecular beam epitaxy. Each step of the growth is monitored in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction. It is found that a two-dimensional epitaxial wurtzite GaN film is obtained. The surface morphology is smooth: the rms roughness is as low as 1.3 nm for 2×2 μm² scan. Photoluminescence measurements reveal pretty good optical properties. The GaN band edge is centred at 3.469 eV with a linewidth of 5 meV. These results demonstrate that GaN heteroepitaxially grown on diamond opens new rooms for high power electronic applications.     

Growth of GaN based structures on Si(1 1 0) by molecular beam epitaxy

The growth of GaN based structures on Si(1 1 0) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using ammonia as the nitrogen precursor is reported. The structural, optical and electrical properties of such structures are assessed and are quite similar to the ones obtained on Si(1 1 1) in-spite of the very different substrate surface symmetry. A threading dislocation density of 3.7×10⁹ cm⁻² is evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, which is in the low range of typical densities obtained on up to 2 μm thick GaN structures grown on Si(1 1 1). To assess the potential of such structure for device realization, AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor and InGaN/GaN light emitting diode heterostructures were grown and their properties are compared with the ones obtained on Si(1 1 1).     

Influence of deposition conditions on nanocrystalline InN layers synthesized on Si(1 1 1) and GaN templates by RF sputtering

We present a detailed investigation on the influence of deposition conditions on morphological, structural and optical properties of InN films deposited on Si(1 1 1) and GaN-on-sapphire templates by reactive radio-frequency (RF) sputtering. The deposition parameters under study are nitrogen content in the sputtering gas, substrate–target distance, substrate temperature and RF power. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the (0 0 0 1) preferred growth orientation and the wurtzite crystallographic structure of the material. For optimized deposition conditions, InN on Si(1 1 1) substrates presents smooth surface with root-mean-square roughness ∼1 nm. Surface quality of the InN films can be further improved by deposition on GaN-on-sapphire templates, achieving root-mean-square roughness as low as ∼0.4 nm, comparable to that of the underlying substrate. The room-temperature absorption edge is located at 1.70 eV. Intense low-temperature photoluminescence peaking at 1.60 eV is observed.     

Stacking faults blocking process in (1 1 −2 2) semipolar GaN growth on sapphire using asymmetric lateral epitaxy

We have succeeded in effectively stopping the propagation of basal stacking faults in (1 1 −2 2) semipolar GaN films on sapphire using an original epitaxial lateral overgrowth process. The growth conditions were chosen to enhance the growth rate along the [0 0 0 1] inclined direction. Thus, the crystal expands laterally until growth above the a-facet of the adjacent crystal seed, where the basal stacking faults emerge. The growth anisotropy was monitored using scanning electron microscopy. The faults filtering and improvement of crystalline quality were attested by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and low temperature photoluminescence, which exhibits high intensity band-edge emission with low stacking faults related emission.     

HVPE growth of semi-polar (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN on GaN template (1 1 3)Si substrate

The hydride-vapour-phase-epitaxial (HVPE) growth of semi-polar (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN is attempted on a GaN template layer grown on a patterned (1 1 3) Si substrate. It is found that the chemical reaction between the GaN grown layer and the Si substrate during the growth is suppressed substantially by lowering the growth temperatures no higher than 900 °C. And the surface morphology is improved by decreasing the V/III ratio. It is shown that a 230-μm-thick (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN with smooth surface is obtained at a growth temperature of 870 °C with V/III of 14.     

Mg segregation in a (1 1¯ 0 1) GaN grown on a 7° off-axis (0 0 1) Si substrate by MOVPE

Redistribution behavior of magnesium (Mg) in the N-terminated (1 1¯ 0 1) gallium nitride (GaN) has been investigated. A nominally undoped GaN layer was grown on a heavily Mg-doped GaN template by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Mg dopant profiles were measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis. A slow decay of the Mg concentration was observed in the nominally undoped GaN layer due to the surface segregation. The calculated decay lengths of the (1 1¯ 0 1) GaN are ∼75–85 nm/decade. These values are shorter than the decay length determined in the sample grown on the Ga-terminated (0 0 0 1) GaN. This result indicates that Mg exhibited weak surface segregation in the (1 1¯ 0 1) GaN as compared to the (0 0 0 1) GaN. The weak surface segregation is in agreement with the high efficiency of Mg incorporation on the (1 1¯ 0 1) face. The high density of hydrogen was obtained in the (1 1¯ 0 1) GaN, which might enhance the Mg incorporation.     

Heteroepitaxial growth of InN layers on (1 1 1) silicon substrates

Indium nitride (InN) layers were grown on (1 1 1) silicon substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering using an indium target. Atomic force microscope, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed that highly c-axis preferred wurtzite InN layers with very smooth surface can be obtained on (1 1 1) silicon substrates at a substrate temperature as low as 100 °C. The results indicate that the reactive sputtering is a promising growth technique for obtaining InN layers on silicon substrates at low substrate temperature with low cost and good compatibility with microelectronic silicon-based devices.     

Maskless selective growth of semi-polar (1 12¯ 2) GaN on Si (3 1 1) substrate by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

Semi-polar (1 1 2¯ 2) GaN layers were selectively grown by metal organic chemical vapor phase epitaxy on patterned Si (3 1 1) substrates without SiO₂ amorphous mask. The (1 1 2¯ 2) GaN layers could be selectively grown only on Si (1 1 1) facets when the stripe mask width was narrower than 1 μm even without SiO₂. Inhomogeneous spatial distribution of donor bound exciton (DBE) peak in low-temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra was explained by the difference of growth mode before and after the coalescence of stripes. It was found that the emission intensity related crystal defects is drastically decreased in case of selective growth without SiO₂ masks as compared to that obtained with SiO₂ masks.     

Growth of (1 0 1¯ 3¯ ) semipolar GaN on m-plane sapphire by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

The crystalline, surface, and optical properties of the (1 0 1¯ 3¯) semipolar GaN directly grown on m-plane sapphire substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) were investigated. It was found that the increase of V/III ratio led to high quality (1 0 1¯ 3¯) oriented GaN epilayers with a morphology that may have been produced by step-flow growth and with minor evidence of anisotropic crystalline structure. After etching in the mixed acids, the inclined pyramids dominated the GaN surface with a density of 2×10⁵ cm⁻², revealing the N-polarity characteristic. In the low-temperature PL spectra, weak BSF-related emission at 3.44 eV could be observed as a shoulder of donor-bound exciton lines for the epilayer at high V/III ratio, which was indicative of obvious reduction of BSFs density. In comparison with other defect related emissions, a different quenching behavior was found for the 3.29 eV emission, characterized by the temperature-dependent PL measurement.     

Hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on a-plane GaN/sapphire template

ZnO nanorod arrays are grown on a-plane GaN template/r-plane sapphire substrates by hydrothermal technique. Aqueous solutions of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine were employed as growth precursors. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements were carried out for morphology, phase and growth orientation analysis. Single crystalline nanorods were found to have off-normal growth and showed well-defined in-plane epitaxial relationship with the GaN template. The 〈0 0 0 1〉 axis of the ZnO nanorods were observed to be parallel to the 〈1 0 1¯ 0〉 of the a-plane GaN layer. Optical property of the as-grown ZnO nanorods was analyzed by room temperature photoluminescence measurements.     

Characterizations of GaN films and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on vicinal sapphire (0 0 0 1) substrates grown by MOCVD

GaN films and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on vicinal sapphire (0 0 0 1) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are investigated. It is found that surface morphologies of GaN films depend on the vicinal angle, however, they are not sensitive to the inclination directions of the substrate. The optimized vicinal angle for obtaining excellent surface morphology is around 0.5°. This conclusion is also confirmed by characterizing the electrical property of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure.     

The influence of the Al pre-deposition on the properties of AlN buffer layer and GaN layer grown on Si (1 1 1) substrate

The influence of Al pre-deposition on the properties of AlN buffer layer and GaN layer grown on Si (1 1 1) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has been systematically studied. Compared with the sample without Al pre-deposition, optimum Al pre-deposition time could improve the AlN buffer layer crystal quality and reduce the root mean square (RMS) roughness. Whereas, overlong Al-deposition time deteriorated the AlN crystal quality and Al-deposition patterns could be found. Cracks and melt-back etching patterns appeared in the GaN layer grown without Al pre-deposition. With suitable Al-deposition time, crack-free 2.0 μm GaN was obtained and the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of (0 0 2) plane measured by double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) was as low as 482 arcsec. However, overlong Al-deposition time would result in a great deal of cracks, and the crystal quality of GaN layer deteriorated. The surface of GaN layer became rough in the region where the Al-deposition patterns were formed due to overlong Al-deposition time.     

Hydride-assisted growth of GaN nanowires on Au/Si(0 0 1) via the reaction of Ga with NH3 and H2

High quality, straight GaN nanowires (NWs) with diameters of 50 nm and lengths up to 3 μm have been grown on Si(0 0 1) using Au as a catalyst and the direct reaction of Ga with NH₃ and N₂:H₂ at 900 °C. These exhibited intense, near band edge photoluminescence at 3.42 eV in comparison to GaN NWs with non-uniform diameters obtained under a flow of Ar:NH₃, which showed much weaker band edge emission due to strong non-radiative recombination. A significantly higher yield of β-Ga₂O₃ NWs with diameters of ≤50 nm and lengths up to 10 μm were obtained, however, via the reaction of Ga with residual O₂ under a flow of Ar alone. The growth of GaN NWs depends critically on the temperature, pressure and flows in decreasing order of importance but also the availability of reactive species of Ga and N. A growth mechanism is proposed whereby H₂ dissociates on the Au nanoparticles and reacts with Ga giving Ga_xH_y thereby promoting one-dimensional (1D) growth via its reaction with dissociated NH₃ near or at the top of the GaN NWs while suppressing at the same time the formation of an underlying amorphous layer. The higher yield and longer β-Ga₂O₃ NWs grow by the vapor liquid solid mechanism that occurs much more efficiently than nitridation.     

Growth of thick GaInN on grooved (1 0 1¯ 1¯) GaN/(1 0 1¯ 2¯) 4H-SiC

We succeeded in growing high-crystalline-quality thick (1 0 1¯ 1¯) Ga_0.92In_0.08N films on a grooved (1 0 1¯ 1¯) GaN/(1 0 1¯ 2¯) 4H-SiC underlying layer. We also fabricated GaInN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with a peak wavelength of 580 nm on a high-crystalline-quality thick GaInN film. The photoluminescence intensity of the MQWs is about six times higher than that of MQWs grown on planar GaN and twice as high as that of MQWs grown on a GaN underlying layer having the same grooved structure.     

An ab initio-based approach to the stability of GaN(0 0 0 1) surfaces under Ga-rich conditions

Structural stability of GaN(0 0 0 1) under Ga-rich conditions is systematically investigated by using our ab initio-based approach. The surface phase diagram for GaN(0 0 0 1) including (2×2) and pseudo-(1×1) is obtained as functions of temperature and Ga beam equivalent pressure by comparing chemical potentials of Ga atom in the gas phase with that on the surface. The calculated results reveal that the pseudo-(1×1) appearing below 684–973 K changes its structure to the (2×2) with Ga adatom at higher temperatures beyond 767–1078 K via the newly found (1×1) with two adlayers of Ga. These results are consistent with the stable temperature range of both the pseudo-(1×1) and (2×2) with Ga adatom obtained experimentally. Furthermore, it should be noted that the structure with another coverage of Ga adatoms between the (1×1) and (2×2)-Ga does not appear as a stable structure of GaN(0 0 0 1). Furthermore, ghost island formation observed by scanning tunneling microscopy is discussed on the basis of the phase diagram.     

Reduction of dislocations in a (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN grown by selective MOVPE on (1 1 3)Si

Two-step selective epitaxy (SAG/ELO) of (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN on (1 1 3)Si substrate is studied to reduce the defect density in the epitaxial lateral overgrowth. The first SAG/ELO is to prepare a (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN template on a (1 1 3)Si and the second SAG/ELO is to get a uniform (1 1 2¯ 2)GaN. It is found that the reduction of the defect density is improved by optimizing the mask configuration in the second SAG/ELO. The minimum dark spot density obtained is 3×10⁷/cm², which is two orders of magnitude lower than that found in a (0 0 0 1)GaN grown on (1 1 1)Si.     

Atomic ordering in GaAsSb (0 0 1) grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Epitaxial GaAsSb (0 0 1) semiconductor alloys grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy exhibit several spontaneously ordered structures. A superlattice structure with three-fold ordering in the [1 1 0] direction has been previously observed by different groups. CuAu structures with (1 0 0) and (0 1 0) ordering planes have also been reported. The physical origin of CuAu ordering in III–V semiconductors has not yet been explained. In this work we report the effect of growth conditions on CuAu ordering in GaAsSb, including miscut from (0 0 1), growth rate, bismuth surfactant concentration, and growth temperature. These data point to a surface kinetic mechanism not based on dimer strain, but possibly due to one-dimensional ordering at step edges.     

MOVPE growth and properties of GaN on (1 1 1)Si using an AlInN intermediate layer

Using an AlInN intermediate layer, GaN was grown on (1 1 1)Si substrate by selective metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The variation of the surface morphology was investigated as a function of the In composition and thickness of the AlInN layer. It was found that the In composition in the AlInN layer was a function of the growth temperature and thickness. Because of the small band offset at the AlInN/Si hetero-interface, we have achieved a low series resistance of the order of 9 Ω (0.0036 Ω cm²) across the GaN/AlInN/AlN/Si layer structure.