Porous medium is a special type of material where voids are created in a solid medium. The introduction of pores into a bulk solid can profoundly affect its physical properties and enable

We report the use of hydrofluoric acid (HF) as an electrolyte in etching and porosifying GaN. HF is found to be effective in rendering a wide range of nanoporous morphology, from curved branches to highly parallel straight pores. Under suitable conditions, the porosification proceeds at a rate greater than 100 μm/min. To elucidate the etching mechanism, cyclic voltammetry is performed, together with a parametric mapping of electrolysis variables such as the doping of GaN, the concentration of HF electrolyte, and the anodization voltage. We demonstrate that the formation of nanoporous structures is largely due to the local breakdown of the reverse-biased semiconductor junction. A quantitative agreement between the estimated width of space-charge region and the observed variation in morphology lends support to a depletion layer model developed previously in the etching of porous-Si.

Single crystalline nanomembranes (NMs) represent a new embodiment of semiconductors having a two-dimensional flexural character with comparable crystalline perfection and optoelectronic efficacy. In this Letter, we demonstrate the preparation of GaN NMs with a freestanding thickness between 90 to 300 nm. Large-area (>5 × 5 mm(2)) GaN NMs can be routinely obtained using a procedure of conductivity-selective electrochemical etching. GaN NM is atomically flat and possesses an optical quality similar to that from bulk GaN. A light-emitting optical heterostructure NM consisting of p-GaN/InGaN quantum wells/GaN is prepared by epitaxy, undercutting etching, and layer transfer. Bright blue light emission from this heterostructure validates the concept of NM-based optoelectronics and points to potentials in flexible applications and heterogeneous integration.

Here, we demonstrate a process to produce planar semipolar (202¯1) GaN templates on sapphire substrates. We obtain (202¯1) oriented GaN by inclined c-plane sidewall growth from etched sapphire, resulting in single crystal material with on-axis x-ray diffraction linewidth below 200 arc sec. The surface, composed of (101¯1) and (101¯0) facets, is planarized by the chemical-mechanical polishing of full 2 in. wafers, with a final surface root mean square roughness of <0.5 nm. We then analyze facet formation and roughening mechanisms on the (202¯1) surface and establish a growth condition in N2 carrier gas to maintain a planar surface for further device layer growth. Finally, the capability of these semipolar (202¯1) GaN templates to produce high quality device structures is verified by the growth and characterization of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures. It is expected that the methods shown here can enable the benefits of using semipolar orientations in a scalable and practical process and can be readily extended to achieve devices on surfaces using any orientation of semipolar GaN on sapphire.

Aligned mesopore arrays have many potential applications in bulk heterojunction photovoltaics, sensors, and photocatalysts. In this study, vertically aligned mesopores in ndoped GaN thin films were fabricated using an anodic etch procedure in nitric acid. The resulting porous structure remains monocrystalline and is highly conductive. After etching, a low-porosity nucleation layer was observed on the surface, and was subsequently removed with a UV-assisted anodic etch to expose the pores. Removal of the surface layer allows diffusion from the pores, suitable for sensitized photovoltaics and chemical sensors. Extremely fast etching rates of over 2 μm/s were recorded, with indication that hole transport in the epilayer was limiting the reaction rate even in highly doped samples.