Synthesis of ZnAl2O4/-Al2O3 complex substrates and growth of GaN films

Abstract

With the solid phase reaction between pulsed-laser-deposited (PLD) ZnO film and α-Al2O3 substrate, ZnAl2O4/α-Al2O3 complex substrates were synthesized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra show that as the reaction proceeds, ZnAl2O4 changes from the initial (111)-oriented single crystal to poly-crystal, and then to inadequate (111) orientation. Corresponding scanning electron microscope (SEM) images indicate that the surface morphology of ZnAl2O4 transforms from uniform islands to stick structures, and then to bulgy-line structures. In addition, XRD spectra present that ZnAl2O4 prepared at low temperature is unstable at the environment of higher temperature. On the as-obtained ZnAl2O4/α-Al2O3 substrates, GaN films were grown without any nitride buffer using light-radiation heating low-pressure MOCVD (LRH-LP-MOCVD). XRD spectra indicate that GaN film on this kind of complex substrate changes fromc-axis single crystal to poly-crystal as ZnAl2O4 layer is thickened. For the single crystal GaN, its full width at half maximum (FWHM) of X-ray rocking curve is 0.4°. Results indicate that islands on thin ZnAl2O4 layer can promote nucleation at initial stage of GaN growth, which leads to the (0001)-oriented GaN film.