Growth of Nitrogen-Polar 2H-AlN on Step-Height-Controlled 6H-SiC(0001̄) Substrate by Molecular-Beam Epitaxy

Abstract

200-nm-thick N-polar AlN layers were grown on 6H-SiC(000) substrates with 6-bilayer-high steps by molecular-beam epitaxy. During N-polar AlN growth, multinucleation growth occured easily, increasing the surface roughness of AlN. By reducing supersaturation (nucleation probability), the surface roughness was improved. The FWHMs of (0002) and (01) ω-scan diffraction peaks of the AlN layer were 120 and 210 arcsec, respectively. The formation of stacking-mismatch boundaries (SMBs) was successfully suppressed by step-height control of the SiC substrate and the initial layer-by-layer growth. Most of the threading dislocations (TDs) were generated at the step edges of the SiC surfaces. The density of TDs in the AlN layers was 2×109 cm-2.