Nonpolar GaN Films Research Articles

Effects of gamma irradiation on non-polar GaN films deposited on sapphire using pulsed laser deposition

The GaN films/layers exposed to γ-radiations is known to harvest defects and vacancies in the crystals producing donor, acceptor and recombination centers within the bandgap. Therefore it is important to investigate and study the γ- ray irradiation effects on various physical and chemical properties of a material before any optoelectronic and/or electronic devices are being fabricated. To avoid Stark effect which is observed in most of the optoelectronic devices fabricated using GaN films grew along polar face, use of non-polar GaN films is suggested by researchers. To address such issues the article reports the investigations of physical and chemical properties of non-polar GaN films grown on polar substrate using pulsed laser deposition, which were exposed to the 60Co gamma rays varying dose values. Resistive nature against the impairment of the films caused by γ-rays observed herewith is highly encouraging, suggesting the use of non-polar GaN films as radiations harden material suitable for fabricating new generation γ-ray detectors. To our knowledge very limited information is available that report such investigations.

Effects of Mg-doping temperature on the structural and electrical properties of nonpolar a-plane p-type GaN films

Nonpolar (11–20) a-plane p-type GaN films were successfully grown on r-plane sapphire substrate with the metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. The effects of Mg-doping temperature on the structural and electrical properties of nonpolar p-type GaN films were investigated in detail. It is found that all the surface morphology, crystalline quality, strains, and electrical properties of nonpolar a-plane p-type GaN films are interconnected, and are closely related to the Mg-doping temperature. This means that a proper performance of nonpolar p-type GaN can be expected by optimizing the Mg-doping temperature. In fact, a hole concentration of 1.3 × 1018 cm−3, a high Mg activation efficiency of 6.5%, an activation energy of 114 meV for Mg acceptor, and a low anisotropy of 8.3% in crystalline quality were achieved with a growth temperature of 990 °C. This approach to optimizing the Mg-doping temperature of the nonpolar a-plane p-type GaN film provides an effective way to fabricate high-efficiency optoelectronic devices in the future.

Growth of non-polar m-plane GaN pseudo-substrates by Molecular beam epitaxy

Non-polar m-plane GaN films were grown by Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy on γ-LiAlO2 (100) substrates by a controlled coalescence of GaN nanocolumns obtained by a two-step process including a top-down nanopillars etching from a GaN buffer and a subsequent bottom-up overgrowth. Transmission electron microscopy data show a significant reduction of extended defects density in the coalesced film as compared to the initial GaN buffer, most likely due to a filter effect by the regrowth process on the nanopillars inclined walls. Low temperature photoluminescence spectra back this reduction by a strong intensity decrease of the stacking faults fingerprint emission peaks, while a very intense donor-bound excitonic emission at 3.472 eV, 2.8 meV wide, becomes dominant.

Plasma-Assisted MOCVD Growth of Non-Polar GaN and AlGaN on Si(111) Substrates Utilizing GaN-AlN Buffer Layer

We report the growth of non-polar GaN and AlGaN films on Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (PA-MOCVD). Low-temperature growth of GaN or AlN was used as a buffer layer to overcome the lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient between GaN and Si(111) and GaN’s poor wetting on Si(111). As grown, the buffer layer is amorphous, and it crystalizes during annealing to the growth temperature and then serves as a template for the growth of GaN or AlGaN. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization to investigate the influence of the buffer layer on crystal structure, orientation, and the morphology of GaN. We found that the GaN buffer layer is superior to the AlN buffer layer. The thickness of the GaN buffer layer played a critical role in the crystal quality and plane orientation and in reducing the cracks during the growth of GaN/Si(111) layers. The optimum GaN buffer layer thickness is around 50 nm, and by using the optimized GaN buffer layer, we investigated the growth of AlGaN with varying Al compositions. The morphology of the AlGaN films is flat and homogenous, with less than 1 nm surface roughness, and has preferred orientation in a-axis.

Characterization of optical properties and thermo-optic effect for non-polar AlGaN thin films using spectroscopic ellipsometry

The non-polar a-plane AlGaN thin films with various Al compositions were grown successfully on the r-plane semi-polar sapphire substrates using the continuous growth, two-way pulsed-flow, and three-way pulsed-flow growth methods, respectively with metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The optical properties and thermo-optic effect of these films were studied extensively for the first time with angle- and temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) under both isotropic and anisotropic fitting modes. The SE fitting results for the energy band-gap, the layer thickness, and the surface roughness of the non-polar GaN, AlGaN, and AlN thin films were found to be comparable or even consistent quite well with the characterization results of high-resolution x-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. It was revealed that the non-polar AlGaN has higher refractive index than its polar counterpart with the same Al composition, and the non-polar AlGaN with the lowest surface roughness could be achieved with the three-way pulsed-flow growth method. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the anisotropy for the non-polar AlGaN thin film increased with increasing the Al composition. These characterization results should be useful for the fabrication of the non-polar AlGaN-based high-temperature power and ultraviolet-polarized optoelectronic devices utilizing thermo-optical effect and optical anisotropy.

Reduction in crystalline quality anisotropy for non-polar a-plane GaN directly grown on titanium patterned sapphire substrate

Nonpolar a-plane GaN films were directly grown on titanium patterned sapphire substrates (Ti-PSS) by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). It is demonstrated that the GaN film grown on Ti-PSS has superior surface quality and less surface pits than that on flat sapphire substrate. More importantly, the anisotropic behavior of the X-ray rocking curve-full width at half maximum values for the on-axis reflections were significantly improved. It is found that, the increased mosaic block size along m-direction could be the main reason for the reduction in the crystalline quality anisotropy. This work provides a simple and effective method to improve the crystal quality of non-polar GaN films.

Wet chemical etching induced stress relaxed nanostructures on polar & non-polar epitaxial GaN films.

We report formation of aligned nanostructures on epitaxially grown polar and nonpolar GaN films via wet chemical (hot H3PO4 and KOH) etching. The morphological evolution exhibited stress relaxed faceted nanopyramids, flat/trigonal nanorods and porous structures with high hydrophilicity and reduced wettability. The nanostructured films divulged significant suppression of defects and displayed an enhanced intensity ratio of the near band edge emission to the defect band. Extensive photoemission analysis revealed variation in oxidation state along with elimination of OH- and adsorbed H2O molecules from the chemically modified surfaces. Fermi level pinning, and alteration in the surface polarity with substantial changes in the electron affinities were also perceived. The temperature dependent current-voltage analysis of the nanostructured surfaces displayed enhancement in current conduction. The in-depth analysis demonstrates that the chemically etched samples could potentially be utilized as templates in the design/growth of III-nitride based high performance devices.

Chemical etching behavior of non-polar GaN sidewalls

Wet-chemical etching of non-polar GaN films can be applied to form textured surfaces that enhance light extraction efficiency in light-emitting diodes. The etch-induced shapes (trigonal prisms) on the sidewalls of concave and convex mesa patterns defined on a-plane GaN films exhibited an alignment towards the [0001̅] direction. An etch-rate vector model that includes one fast etching direction and two etching directions normal to the fast direction was developed to explain the creation of the etch-induced trigonal prisms. The large lattice parameter along with [0001̅] and single dangling bond of a-plane surface supply enough space for attack of OH− ions, which is confirmed by XPS analysis that indicates the increased hydroxide spectra on a-plane after KOH etching and these are the reason for different etch rate and formation of trigonal prisms.

Epitaxial growth of nonpolar GaN films on r-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition

Single-crystalline nonpolar GaN epitaxial films have been successfully grown on r-plane sapphire (Al2O3) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with an in-plane epitaxial relationship of GaN[1-100]//Al2O3[11-20]. The properties of the ~500nm-thick nonpolar GaN epitaxial films grown at temperatures ranging from 450 to 880°C are studied in detail. It is revealed that the surface morphology, the crystalline quality, and the interfacial property of as-grown ~500nm-thick nonpolar GaN epitaxial films are firstly improved and then decreased with the growth temperature changing from 450 to 880°C. It shows an optimized result at the growth temperature of 850°C, and the ~500nm-thick nonpolar GaN epitaxial films grown at 850°C show very smooth surface with a root-mean-square surface roughness of 5.5nm and the best crystalline quality with the full-width at half-maximum values of X-ray rocking curves for GaN(11-20) and GaN(10-11) of 0.8° and 0.9°, respectively. Additionally, there is a 1.7nm-thick interfacial layer existing between GaN epitaxial films and r-plane sapphire substrates. This work offers an effective approach for achieving single-crystalline nonpolar GaN epitaxial films for the fabrication of nonpolar GaN-based devices.

Enhanced UV detection by non-polar epitaxial GaN films

Nonpolar a-GaN (11-20) epilayers were grown on r-plane (1-102) sapphire substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. High resolution x-ray diffractometer confirmed the orientation of the grown film. Effect of the Ga/N ratio on the morphology and strain of a-GaN epilayers was compared and the best condition was obtained for the nitrogen flow of 1 sccm. Atomic force microscopy was used to analyze the surface morphology while the strain in the film was quantitatively measured using Raman spectroscopy and qualitatively analyzed by reciprocal space mapping technique. UV photo response of a-GaN film was measured after fabricating a metal-semiconductor-metal structure over the film with gold metal. The external quantum efficiency of the photodetectors fabricated in the (0002) polar and (11-20) nonpolar growth directions were compared in terms of responsivity and nonpolar GaN showed the best sensitivity at the cost of comparatively slow response time.

Direct spontaneous growth and interfacial structural properties of inclined GaN nanopillars on r-plane sapphire

The spontaneous growth of GaN nanopillars (NPs) by direct plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on nitridated r-plane sapphire substrates has been studied. The emanation of metal-polarity NPs from inside an a-plane nonpolar GaN film was found to depend on both the substrate nitridation and the growth conditions. The density of NPs increased with increasing the duration of the nitridation process and the power applied on the radio-frequency plasma source, as well as the III/V flux ratio, while variation of the first two parameters enhanced the roughness of the substrate's surface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were employed to reveal the structural characteristics of the NPs and their nucleation mechanism from steps on the sapphire surface and/or interfacial semipolar GaN nanocrystals. Lattice strain measurements showed a possible Al enrichment of the first 5–6 monolayers of the NPs. By combining cross-sectional and plan-view TEM observations, the three-dimensional model of the NPs was constructed. The orientation relationship and interfacial accommodation between the NPs and the nonpolar a-plane GaN film were also elucidated. The NPs exhibited strong and narrow excitonic emission, suggesting an excellent structural quality.

Semipolar and nonpolar GaN epi-films grown on m-sapphire by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We hereby report the development of non-polar epi-GaN films of usable quality, on an m-plane sapphire. Generally, it is difficult to obtain high-quality nonpolar material due to the planar anisotropic nature of the growth mode. However, we could achieve good quality epi-GaN films by involving controlled steps of nitridation. GaN epilayers were grown on m-plane (10-10) sapphire substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The films grown on the nitridated surface resulted in a nonpolar (10-10) orientation while without nitridation caused a semipolar (11-22) orientation. Room temperature photoluminescence study showed that nonpolar GaN films have higher value of compressive strain as compared to semipolar GaN films, which was further confirmed by room temperature Raman spectroscopy. The room temperature UV photodetection of both films was investigated by measuring the I-V characteristics under UV light illumination. UV photodetectors fabricated on nonpolar GaN showed better characteristics, including higher external quantum efficiency, compared to photodetectors fabricated on semipolar GaN. X-ray rocking curves confirmed better crystallinity of semipolar as compared to nonpolar GaN which resulted in faster transit response of the device.

Chemical etching behaviors of semipolar (11̄22) and nonpolar (11̄20) gallium nitride films.

Wet chemical etching using hot KOH and H3PO4 solutions was performed on semipolar (11̄22) and nonpolar (11̄20) GaN films grown on sapphire substrates. An alternating KOH/H3PO4/KOH etch process was developed to control the orientation of the facets on the thin-film surface. The initial etch step in KOH produced c- and m-plane facets on the surface of both semipolar (11̄22) and nonpolar (11̄20) GaN thin-films. A second etch step in H3PO4 solution additionally exposed a (̄1̄12̄2) plane, which is chemically stable in H3PO4 solution. By repeating the chemical etch with KOH solution, the m-plane facets as seen in the original KOH etch step were recovered. The etching methods developed in our work can be used to control the surface morphologies of nonpolar and semipolar GaN-based optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes and solar cells.

Improvement in a-plane GaN crystalline quality using wet etching method

Nonpolar (112̄0) GaN films are grown on the etched a-plane GaN substrates via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. High-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis shows great decreases in the full width at half maximum of the samples grown on etched substrates compared with those of the sample without etching, both on-axis and off-axis, indicating the reduced dislocation densities and improved crystalline quality of these samples. The spatial mapping of the E2 (high) phonon mode demonstrates the smaller line width with a black background in the wing region, which testifies the reduced dislocation densities and enhanced crystalline quality of the epitaxial lateral overgrowth areas. Raman scattering spectra of the E2 (high) peaks exhibit in-plane compressive stress for all the overgrowth samples, and the E2 (high) peaks of samples grown on etched substrates shift toward the lower frequency range, indicating the relaxations of in-plane stress in these GaN films. Furthermore, room temperature photoluminescence measurement demonstrates a significant decrease in the yellow-band emission intensity of a-plane GaN grown on etched templates, which also illustrates the better optical properties of these samples.

Nonpolar GaN films on high-index silicon: Lattice matching by design

We explore theoretically the possibility of growing GaN films in a nonpolar orientation on planar high-index Si($hhk$) substrates. Candidate substrates were identified by requiring that they are well lattice matched, on a length scale of several unit cells, to GaN in the nonpolar $m$-plane orientation. These candidate orientations were then used to construct atomistic models of the GaN/Si($hhk$) interface. Using density functional theory, we then computed the formation energies of these nonpolar interfaces and compared them to those of competing polar interfaces. We find that Si(112) and Si(113) offer potentially favorable substrates for the growth of nonpolar $m$-plane GaN.

Growth and characterization of a-plane (11[formula omitted]0) GaN films on (010) LiGaO2 substrate by chemical vapor deposition

Nonpolar (112¯0) GaN films were successfully grown on closely lattice-matched (010) LiGaO2 (LGO) substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The dependence of growth characteristics on the growth temperatures was investigated. The surface morphologies of GaN films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Structural properties of the GaN epilayers were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy results showed direct evidence of the in-plane structural relationship between the GaN epilayer and (010) LGO substrate. Low temperature photoluminescence was dominated by neutral donor bound excitons emission at 3.472eV and the defect-related yellow emission was negligible.

Characteristics of a-GaN films and a-AlGaN/GaN heterojunctions prepared on r-sapphire by two-stage growth process

The electrical properties, presence of deep electron and hole traps and photoluminescence spectra were measured for undoped a-GaN films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in a two-stage process using a high V/III ratio at the first stage and low V/III ratio at the second stage. Growth was performed on r-sapphire substrates with a high temperature GaN nucleation layer. The films showed a full width at half maximum of 450-470 arcseconds for the (11-20) x-ray rocking curve with little anisotropy with respect to the sample rotation around the growth direction. The stacking fault (SF) density determined by selective etching was ∼5 × 104 cm−1. The residual donor concentration was 1014–1015 cm−3, with a very low density (2.5 × 1013 cm−3) of electron traps located at Ec − 0.6 eV, which are believed to be one of the major non-radiative recombination centers in nonpolar GaN. Consequently, the films showed a high intensity of bandedge luminescence with negligible contribution from defect bands associated with SFs. In contrast to previously studied nonpolar GaN films, the a-GaN layers showed a high concentration of gallium-vacancy-related acceptors near Ev + 1 eV and a strong yellow luminescence band, both indicating that growth conditions were effectively N-rich. a-AlGaN/GaN heterojunctions with thin heavily Si doped AlGaN barriers made on a-GaN substrates showed two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) concentrations of 1.2 × 1013 cm−3, with 2DEG mobility of 80 cm2/Vs. Capacitance-voltage profiling of Schottky diodes on these HJs suggest that the 2DEG is fully depleted by the built-in voltage of the Schottky diode.

The Research about the III-Nitride Compounds Epitaxially Grown on Si Substrate

The III-nitride compounds epitaxially grown on Si substrate have attracted more and more attentions and some progress have been achieved. Many methods have been tried to tackle the issue which caused by the large lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient mismatches between silicon substrate and the III-nitride compounds. This paper presents buffer layer technology, selective area and lateral epitaxial over growth technology, and presents the researches about the III-nitride devices. Semi polar and non-polar GaN films grown on Si (such as Si(110), Si(112), Si(001) et al.) also have been instructed. At the end of this paper, the development trend of epitaxial technology has been discussed.

Etched Surface Morphology of Heteroepitaxial Nonpolar ( 112̄0 ) and Semipolar ( 112 ¯ 2 ) GaN Films by Photoenhanced Chemical Wet Etching

We investigated how selective wet etching changes the surface morphologies of nonpolar a-plane and semipolar GaN films grown on sapphire substrates. Trigonal prisms with various widths are seen on the top surface and the tapered sidewall facet of the a-plane GaN films along the c-axis direction. Inclined trigonal unit cells are observed on the semipolar GaN films after wet etching. The specific crystallographic planes of , , and (0001) were exposed in common for both the GaN films, indicating that these planes are chemically stable due to atomic bond configurations and smaller density of atoms. Photoenhanced chemical wet etching proceeds on the a-plane and semipolar GaN films until chemically stable m-plane GaN surfaces as well as c-plane GaN surfaces are exposed.

Role of nonradiative recombination centers and extended defects in nonpolar GaN on light emission efficiency

The correlation of integrated microcathodoluminescence efficiency with crystalline quality and deep trap density of nonpolar GaN films grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on semi-insulating 6H-m-SiC or r-sapphire is analyzed. The results suggest a strong influence of nonradiative recombination centers whose concentration decreases with decreased density of extended defects. Electron traps with energy levels at Ec−0.6 eV and which pin the Fermi level in films with high defect density are the most likely candidates for the decrease in light emission efficiency in nonpolar GaN.