Structural properties of GaN films grown on vicinal sapphire (0001) substrates with various vicinal angles by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy are investigated. High-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) results reveal the dramatic improvement of both tilting and twisting grain features of the GaN films when the vicinal angle is larger than 0.5° with the formation of multilayer macro-steps on the surface. The threading dislocation density reduces by over an order of magnitude estimated from the HRXRD results. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observations clearly show that the formation and lateral propagation of macro-steps on the GaN surface play an important role in this dislocation reduction. A method for the reduction of threading dislocation density in GaN epilayers is proposed.
GaN heteroepitaxial growth on sapphire (0001) substrates was carried out by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (rf-MBE). A Ga-polarity growth was achieved by using an AlN high-temperature buffer layer. The epilayer polarity was characterized directly by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectra (CAICISS). It was found that the properties of the GaN films showing Ga-face polarity, including their structural and electrical properties, were dramatically improved compared to those of films with N-face polarity. This important conclusion is considered to be a breakthrough in the realization of high-quality III-nitride films by MBE for device applications.
The arsenic pressure dependence of Ga adatom surface diffusion in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on nonplanar substrates was investigated. By using in situ scanning microprobe reflection high-energy electron diffraction (µ-RHEED), the distribution of the growth rate of GaAs on the (001) surface near the edge of the (111)A or (111)B sidewall was measured under various arsenic pressures. The surface diffusion length of Ga adatom incorporation on the (001) surface derived from the distribution is on the order of micrometers and it shows a strong dependence on arsenic pressure. A simple model based on one-dimensional surface diffusion was proposed. With this theory, the lifetime of Ga adatom incorporation on other surfaces is obtained.
Nanoscale GaN dots were successfully formed on AlxGa1−xN/6H-SiC(0001) surfaces by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy. It was found that the growth mode can be changed by introducing Si before GaN growth, where the Si is believed to play an important role in the change of the AlxGa1−xN surface free energy. Without introducing Si, the GaN growth mode was two dimensional and (1×3) reconstruction was observed. The growth mode of GaN was changed from two-dimensional to three-dimensional by introducing Si on the AlxGa1−xN surface. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy observations were used to monitor and characterize the growth processes and surface morphology.
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