Effects of the group V/III ratio and a gan inter-layer on the crystal quality of InN grown by using the hydride vapor-phase epitaxy method

Abstract

The hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) method was used to deposit high-quality InN layers on GaN inter-layer/sapphire (0001) structures that had been fabricated by using either the HVPE method or the metal-organic chemical-phase deposition (MOCVD) method. The effects of the group V/III ratio and different GaN inter-layers on the crystal quality of the InN layers were systemically investigated. The InN layer grown at a low Group V/III ratio revealed a high crystal quality with a two-dimensional (2D) growth mode. Also, the 110.7-nm-thick InN layer grown by using HVPE on a GaN inter-layer/sapphire (0001) substrate structure that had been fabricated by using MOCVD had a high crystal quality, with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the InN X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak being about 844 arcsec, and a smooth surface with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) roughness of about 0.07 nm. On the other hand, the 145.7-nm-thick InN layer grown by using HVPE on a GaN inter-layer/sapphire (0001) substrate structure that had been fabricated by using the HVPE method had a lower crystal quality, a FWHM value for the InN (0002) peak of about 2772 arcsec, and a surface roughness of about 3.73 nm. In addition, the peak of the E2 (high) phonon mode for the 110.7-nm-thick InN layer grown by using HVPE on a GaN inter-layer/sapphire (0001) structure that had been fabricated by using MOCVD was detected at 491 cm -1 and had a FWHM of 9.9 cm-1. As a result, InN layers grown by using HVPE on GaN inter-layer/sapphire (0001) substrate structures fabricated by using MOCVD have a high crystal quality and a reduced Raman value, which agrees well with the results of the XRD analysis.