Comparison of various buffer schemes to grow GaN on large-area Si(111) substrates using metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition

A comparison of gallium-nitride (GaN) films grown on large-area Si(111) using a single aluminum-nitride (AlN) buffer, an AlN/graded-AlxGa1-xN buffer, and the introduction of additional low-temperature (LT)-grown AlN interlayers is reported. A graded-AlGaN buffer followed by additional LT-AlN interlayers is shown to completely eliminate cracking in nitride films of thickness \u3e2 mum and also reduce the threading-dislocation density significantly. A partial compensation of GaN-tensile strain by the compressive-lattice strain induced by the AlGaN and AlN layers is responsible for this effect. The surface roughness is increased by the introduction of the LT-AlN buffers