Ab initio-based approach to reconstruction, adsorption and incorporation on GaN surfaces

Abstract

Reconstruction, adsorption and incorporation on various GaN surfaces are systematically investigated using an ab initio-based approach that predicts the surface phase diagram as functions of temperature and beam-equivalent pressure (BEP). The calculated results for GaN surface reconstructions with polar (0 0 0 1), nonpolar (1 1 −2 0), semipolar (1 −1 0 1) and semipolar (1 1 −2 2) orientations imply that reconstructions on GaN surfaces with Ga adlayers generally appear on the polar and the semipolar surfaces, while the stable ideal surface without Ga adsorption is found on the nonpolar GaN(1 1 −2 0) surface because it satisfies the electron counting rule. The hydrogen adsorption on GaN(0 0 0 1) and GaN(1 1 −2 0) realizes several surface structures forming N–H and Ga–NH2 bonds on their surfaces that depend on temperature and Ga BEP during metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). In contrast, the stable structures due to hydrogen adsorption on the semipolar GaN(1 −1 0 1) and GaN(1 1 −2 2) surfaces are not varied over the wide range of temperature and Ga BEP. This implies that the hydrogen adsorbed stable structures are expected to emerge on the semipolar surfaces during MOVPE regardless of the growth conditions. Furthermore, we clarify that Mg incorporation on GaN(1 −1 0 1) surfaces is enhanced by hydrogen adsorption consistent with experimental findings.