Surface-roughness correlations in homoepitaxial growth of GaN(0001) films by NH3 supersonic jet epitaxy

Abstract

Homoepitaxial GaN films were grown on GaN(0001)∕6H-SiC substrates by NH3 supersonic jet epitaxy at 750°C using a constant Ga flux of 2.9×1014cm−2s−1 and varying the NH3 flux and average kinetic energy. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy, and in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction evidence an abrupt transition from quasi-two-dimensional basal-plane growth to three-dimensional faceted growth at approximately 1∕2 of the maximum Ga-limited growth rate, irrespective of NH3 kinetic energy. Topographical scaling analysis of the AFM images reveals that the smooth and rough GaN(0001) films have static scaling exponents (α) of 0.88±0.05 and 1.10±0.06, respectively. The dynamic scaling exponent (β) for rough films is approximately 0.25. A comparison of these scaling exponents with predictions based on continuum growth models indicates that competition between surface diffusion and stochastic roughening governs the evolution of surface morphology during GaN growth.