Growth of thick GaN films on 2-inch ScAlMgO4 substrates by halide vapor phase epitaxy

Abstract

Thick GaN bulks up to 5.2 mm were grown on 2-inch ScAlMgO4 (SAM) substrates by halide vapor phase epitaxy. Free-standing GaN substrates were fabricated by spontaneous separation during the cooling process. The crystalline quality and orientation of GaN for each film thickness were evaluated by X-ray Rocking Curve (XRC) measurements on the (0002) and (10–12) planes. The FWHM of the XRC (0002) and (10–12) diffraction peaks for the 2.9-mm-thick GaN free-standing bulk were 39 and 51 arcsec, respectively, and the dark spot density measured by cathodoluminescence mapping was 1.5 × 106 cm−2. In addition, the radius of curvature of its free-standing GaN bulk was 5.0 m. The impurity concentrations originating from the SAM almost reached detection limits of the SIMS measurements at a GaN film thickness of around 10 µm and more. The crystalline quality of GaN grown on the SAM substrates was comparable to that of GaN grown on sapphire substrates, indicating that the SAM substrate can replace conventional sapphire substrate because of the ease of fabrication of free-standing GaN bulk.