Optical properties of GaN epilayers grown on Si (111) and Si (001) substrates

We report the observation of bright photoluminescence (PL) emission from two types of GaN epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Wurtzite phase GaN/Si (111) epilayers are grown by gas source MBE process, whereas cubic phase GaN epilayers are grown on (001) Si covered by thin SiC film in the process of Si annealing in propane prior to the GaN growth. PL emissions are identified based on the results of detailed PL and time-resolved PL investigations. For the wurtzite phase GaN we observe an efficient up in the energy transfer from bound to free excitons. This process is explained by a large difference in the PL decay times for two types (free and bound (donor, acceptor)) of excitonic PL emissions. For cubic phase GaN we confirm recent suggestion that acceptors have smaller thermal ionization energies than those in the wurtzite phase GaN.     

Mechanism of misfit stress relaxation during epitaxial growth of GaN on porous SiC substrates

A decrease in the density of threading dislocations has been observed during the epitaxial growth of GaN layers on porous silicon carbide (PSC) substrates by means of chloride hydride vapor phase epitaxy. It is established that, in the early growth stage, the substrate is capable of redistributing stresses in the growing heterostructure, which leads to relaxation of the lattice misfit stresses via generation of a superlattice of planar defects. In the subsequent growth stage, these defects prevent the propagation of threading dislocations. Owing to this phenomenon, 1-μm-thick GaN layers on PSC can be obtained with a density of dislocations reduced by two orders of magnitude as compared to epilayers of the same thickness grown on nonporous substrates.     

Hydride vapor phase epitaxy growth of high-quality GaN film on in situ etched GaN template

In this paper, high-quality GaN film is grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) on in situ etched porous GaN template, which can be prepared by in situ etching of GaN template with HCl gas at high temperature. High-resolution X-ray diffraction measurement shows that the crystalline quality of HVPE-GaN film on porous GaN template is better than that directly deposited on as-grown GaN template. Micro Raman measurement reveals the compressive strain relaxation in the regrown GaN film on porous GaN template, which coincides with the result of the photoluminescence spectra measurement.     

Sequential structural characterization of layers in the GaN/AlN/SiC/Si(111) system by X-ray diffraction upon every growth stage

X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques have been used to study the dynamics of variation of the structural characteristics and deformation state in SiC, AlN, and GaN epilayers sequentially grown on a Si(111) substrate. In this system, the SiC layer has been grown by solid-phase epitaxy, while the AlN and GaN layers have been deposited by chloride-hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) using argon as a carrier gas.     

Improvement of the quality of GaN epilayer by combining a SiNx interlayer and changed GaN growth mode

GaN epilayers with porous SiN_x interlayer and changed growth modes were grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition on c-plane sapphire substrates. Comparing with GaN epilayer grown by ordinary method, the crystalline qualities were significantly improved. The improvement was attributed to the reduction of the density of threading dislocations causing by over-growth process combining with delayed coalescence of individual GaN islands. The influence of the deposition and annealing of nucleation layer on the GaN regrowth was also discussed.     

Semi-insulating GaN:C epilayers grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using propane as a carbon source

The influence of propane present in a reactor at various stages of GaN growth by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on sapphire substrates on the character of epitaxial process and the properties of epilayers has been studied. Doped GaN epilayers with carbon concentration 5 × 10¹⁸ cm^–3 characterized by high crystalline perfection, an atomically smooth surface, and electric breakdown voltage above 500 V at a doped layer thickness of 4 μm have been obtained.

     

Chloride vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium nitride on silicon: Structural and luminescent characteristics of epilayers

The structure and luminescent properties of gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers grown by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) in a hydrogen or argon atmosphere on 2-inch Si(111) substrates with AlN buffer layers have been studied. The replacement of hydrogen atmosphere by argon for the HVPE growth of GaN leads to a decrease in the epilayer surface roughness. The ratio of intensities of the donor-acceptor and exciton bands in the luminescence spectrum decreases with decreasing growth temperature. For the best samples of GaN epilayers, the halfwidth (FWHM) of the X-ray rocking curve for the (0002) reflection was 420 sec of arc, and the FWHM of the band of exciton emission at 77 K was 48 meV.     

Semipolar GaN Layers Grown on Nanostructured Si(100) Substrate

We propose a new method for growing semipolar GaN films on a Si(100) substrate with an array of sub-100-nm-sized V-grooves formed on the surface. It is shown that, using such a nanostructured substrate for metalorganic hydride vapor-phase epitaxy, it is possible to obtain GaN (101?1?) epilayers deviating by an angle of about 62° from the polar direction and having an X-ray rocking curve with a minimum FWHM value of ω_θ ~ 60 arcmin.     

Controlled growth of ordered nanopore arrays in GaN

High-quality, ordered nanopores in semiconductors are attractive for numerous biological, electrical, and optical applications. Here, GaN nanorods with continuous pores running axially through their centers were grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. The porous nanorods nucleate on an underlying (0001)-oriented GaN film through openings in a SiN(x) template that are milled by a focused ion beam, allowing direct placement of porous nanorods. Nanopores with diameters ranging from 20-155 nm were synthesized with crystalline sidewalls.     

采用阳极氧化铝做掩膜生长氮化镓膜

采用均匀的多孔阳极氧化铝做掩膜在氢化物气相外延设备中生长出高质量的氮化镓膜.采用扫描电镜观察了氮化镓膜的界面性质并用阴极发光谱表征了截面上氮化镓层在不同位置的的发光性质,发现随着厚度的增加,其发光特性得到改善,而且由于掩膜结构的引入,外延膜中的压应力得到一定程度的释放.     

Improved quality of GaN epilayer grown on porous SiC substrate by in situ H2 pre-treatment

GaN epilayers were grown on the Si-terminated (0001) 6H-SiC substrates pre-treated by in situ H₂ in metal organic chemical vapor deposition system. It was found that in situ H₂ treatment brought a porous SiC surface. The influence of H₂ pre-treatment conditions on SiC surface was carefully investigated. Moreover, our experiment demonstrated that the H₂ pre-treatment can distinctly influence the GaN basic characteristics.     

Improved growth of GaN layers on ultra thin silicon nitride/Si (1 1 1) by RF-MBE

High-quality GaN epilayers were grown on Si (1 1 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using a new growth process sequence which involved a substrate nitridation at low temperatures, annealing at high temperatures, followed by nitridation at high temperatures, deposition of a low-temperature buffer layer, and a high-temperature overgrowth. The material quality of the GaN films was also investigated as a function of nitridation time and temperature. Crystallinity and surface roughness of GaN was found to improve when the Si substrate was treated under the new growth process sequence. Micro-Raman and photoluminescence (PL) measurement results indicate that the GaN film grown by the new process sequence has less tensile stress and optically good. The surface and interface structures of an ultra thin silicon nitride film grown on the Si surface are investigated by core-level photoelectron spectroscopy and it clearly indicates that the quality of silicon nitride notably affects the properties of GaN growth.     

硅基GaN外延层的SIMS及XPS研究

采用真空反应法在硅基上制备出了GaN外延层。利用二次离子质谱和X射线光电子能谱对GaN外延层进行了深度剖析和表面分析。结果表明 ,外延层中Ga和N分布均匀 ;在表面处Ga发生了偏聚 ;外延层中还存在Si,O等杂质 ,但这些并未影响到GaN外延层的物相及发光性能。实验还表明 ,在外延生长前采用原位清洗可去除Si衬底表面的氧     

The role of trimethylgallium flow during nucleation layer deposition in the optimization of epitaxial GaN films

The effects of the trimethylgallium flow (14–55 μmol/min) during the deposition of the GaN nucleation layer on the structure and electronic properties of GaN epilayers were examined. X-ray and mobility studies indicate that GaN epilayers, grown using non-optimal trimethylgallium (TMG) flow, result in wide FWHM peak and low electron mobility. On the contrary, an optimal TMG flow during the nucleation layer growth leads to films with superior structural and electronic properties. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to systematically investigate the morphological evolution of as-grown nucleation layers, and the nucleation layers were heated to 1000°C under different TMG flows.     

Epitaxy of gallium nitride in semi-polar direction on Si(210) substrate

The idea of a new method for growing gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers in semi-polar direction by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) is disclosed. We propose to use Si(210) substrates with the first buffer layer of silicon carbide (3C-SiC) and the second buffer layer of aluminum nitride (AlN). It is experimentally demonstrated for the first time that, under conditions of anisotropic deformation in the GaN/AlN/3C-SiC/Si(210) structure, a GaN epilayer exhibits growth in semi-polar directions.     

The influence of reactor pressure on qualities of GaN layers grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Influence of reactor pressure on the quality of GaN layers grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) has been studied. With the reactor pressure decreasing from 7 to 5 × 10⁴ Pa, improvements in structural, optical, and electrical properties of the GaN films have been observed.An investigation of the surface morphology of the GaN films reveals that the improvements arise from the change of the growth mode from an island-like mode at high pressures to a step-flow one at low pressures. These results clearly indicate that the reactor pressure, similar to the growth temperature, is one of the important parameters to control the qualities of HVPE-GaN epilayers.     

Epitaxy of gallium nitride in semi-polar direction on silicon

The idea of a new method for growing gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers on (100)-oriented silicon substrates is disclosed. It has been experimentally established that the formation of a special oriented thin (600 nm) buffer layer of aluminum nitride (AlN) by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) makes possible the growth of GaN in semi-polar direction. For the best epilayers obtained by this method, the X-ray rocking curve half-width is ω_θ(0004) = 30 arcmin. The photoluminescence spectra of GaN films measured at 77 K exhibit both exciton and donor-acceptor recombination bands.     

Chloride vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium nitride on silicon: Effect of a silicon carbide interlayer

A new approach is described, according to which the use of a thin silicon carbide (SiC) interlayer ensures the suppression of cracking and the simultaneous release of elastic strain in gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers grown by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) on 1.5-inch Si(111) substrates. Using this method, 20-μm-thick GaN epilayers have been grown by HVPE on Si substrates with AlN (300 nm) and SiC (100 nm) interlayers. A high quality of the obtained GaN epilayers is confirmed by the photoluminescence spectra, where an exciton band with hv_max = 3.45 eV and a half-width (FWHM) of 68 meV is observed at 77 K, as well as by the X-ray rocking curves exhibiting GaN(0002) reflections with a half-width of ω_? = 600 arc sec.     

Luminescent properties of GaN-based epitaxial layers and heterostructures grown on porous SiC substrates

The photoluminescence of single epitaxial GaN layers and electroluminescence of double GaN/AlGaN heterostructures grown on porous silicon carbide (PSC) substrates was studied in comparison to the properties of analogous layers and structures grown on nonporous SiC substrates. The epilayers grown on PSC substrates are characterized by a lower concentration of dislocation-related nonradiative recombination centers. It is suggested that this factor favorably influences the radiative recombination processes in device structures based on group III nitride epilayers grown on PSC substrates.     

GaN epilayer on separately deposited buffer layer by hot wall epitaxy

High quality GaN epilayers were grown on a sapphire substrate using a hot wall epitaxy method. We have investigated the crystal, optical, and electrical properties of GaN epilayers grown as functions of the nitridation condition of the substrate and the growth condition of GaN buffer layer. In order to study an effective method to grow a buffer layer for the growth of high quality GaN epilayer, the buffer layers were formed on the nitridated substrate using two different methods. One is separately deposited buffer layer (SDBL), and the other is co-deposited buffer layer (CDBL). It was observed that the growth condition of the buffer layer had a strong influence on the crystal and optical properties of GaN epilayer. A strong band edge emission peak at 3.474 eV was observed from the photoluminescence spectrum measured at 5 K for GaN epilayer grown at the optimum condition of the buffer layer. The carrier concentration and mobility of undoped GaN epilayer grown with a growth rate of 0.5 μm h⁻¹ were 2 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and >50 cm³ V⁻¹ s⁻¹ at room temperature, respectively.