Structure and composition of gallium nitride films produced by processing gallium arsenide single crystals in atomic nitrogen

Thin GaN films are grown on (001) single-crystal GaAs substrates processed in an atmosphere of active nitrogen radicals. Auger electron spectroscopy is applied to take the depth profiles of the basic chemical elements that enter into the composition of the epitaxial GaN films and single-crystal GaAs substrates. It is found that the surface composition of the GaN films is characterized by considerable nonstoichiometry (the excess nitrogen achieves ≈9%), which is caused by the presence of atomic nitrogen in the discharge chamber. With a high-resolution X-ray diffraction method, the structural perfection of the epitaxial layers is investigated. It is shown that low-temperature annealing (at temperatures below 700°C) is responsible for the formation of cubic GaN films on the (001) surface of cubic GaAs, whereas higher temperature annealing results in the growth of the hexagonal films.