V-shaped inversion domains in InN grown on c-plane sapphire

Inversion domains with a V-shape were found to nucleate inside a Mg-doped InN heteroepitaxial layer. They resemble Al-polarity domains, observed recently, in N-polarity AlN films. However, the angle between the side-walls of the V-shaped domain and the c-axis differs in these two cases. In InN, this angle is almost two times bigger than that reported for AlN. The origin of V-shaped inversion domains in InN film is not yet clear

Inversion domains in AlN grown on (0001) sapphire

Al-polarity inversion domains formed during AlN layer growth on (0001) sapphire were identified using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). They resemble columnar inversion domains reported for GaN films grown on (0001) sapphire. However, for AlN, these columns have a V-like shape with boundaries that deviate by 2 {+-} 0.5{sup o} from the c-axis. TEM identification of these defects agrees with the post-growth surface morphology as well as with the microstructure revealed by etching in hot aqueous KOH

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth of a-plane GaN by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

We report on epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of (112¯0) a-plane GaN by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Different growth rates of Ga- and N-polar wings together with wing tilt create a major obstacle for achieving a smooth, fully coalesced surface in ELOa-plane GaN. To address this issue a two-step growth method was employed to provide a large aspect ratio of height to width in the first growth step followed by enhanced lateral growth in the second by controlling the growth temperature. By this method, the average ratio of Ga- to N-polar wing growth rate has been reduced from 4–6 to 1.5–2, which consequently reduced the wing-tilt induced height difference between the two approaching wings at the coalescence front, thereby making their coalescence much easier. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the threading dislocation density in the wing regions was 1.0×108 cm−2, more than two orders of magnitude lower than that in the window regions (4.2×1010 cm−2). However, a relatively high density of basal stacking faults of 1.2×104 cm−1 was still present in the wing regions as compared to c -plane GaN, where they are rarely observed away from the substrate. Atomic force microscopy(AFM) measurements showed two orders of magnitude higher density of surface pits in the window than in the wing regions, which were considered to be terminated by dislocations (partial ones related to stacking faults and full ones) on the surface. The existence of basal stacking faults was also revealed by AFM measurements on the a-plane ELO sample after wet chemical etching in hot H3PO4∕H2SO4 (1:1). The extensions of Ga-polar wings near the meeting fronts were almost free of stacking faults. The improvement of crystalline quality in the overgrown layer by ELO was also verified by near field scanning optical microscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements; the former showing strongly enhanced luminescence from the wing regions, and the latter indicating longer decay times (0.25 ns) compared to a standard a-plane GaN template (40 ps)

Molecular beam epitaxy of highly mismatched N-rich GaNSb and InNAs alloys

GaN materials alloyed with group V anions form the so-called highly mismatched alloys (HMAs). Recently, the authors succeeded in growing N-rich GaNAs and GaNBi alloys over a large composition range by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). Here, they present first results on PA-MBE growth and properties of N-rich GaNSb and InNAs alloys and compare these with GaNAs and GaNBi alloys. The enhanced incorporation of As and Sb was achieved by growing the layers at extremely low growth temperatures. Although layers become amorphous for high As, Sb, and Bi content, optical absorption measurements show a progressive shift of the optical absorption edge to lower energy. The large band gap range and controllable conduction and valence band positions of these HMAs make them promising materials for efficient solar energy conversion devices

Discovering a Defect that Imposes a Limit to Mg Doping in p-TypeGaN

Gallium nitride (GaN) is the III-V semiconductor used to produce blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and blue and ultraviolet solid-state lasers. To be useful in electronic devices, GaN must be doped with elements that function either as electron donors or as acceptors to turn it into either an n-type semiconductor or a p-type semiconductor. It has been found that GaN can easily be grown with n-conductivity, even up to large concentrations of donors--in the few 10{sup 19}cm{sup -3} range. However, p-doping, the doping of the structure with atoms that provide electron sinks or holes, is not well understood and remains extremely difficult. The only efficient p-type dopant is Mg, but it is found that the free hole concentration is limited to 2 x 10{sup 18}cm{sup -3}, even when Mg concentrations are pushed into the low 10{sup 19}cm{sup -3} range. This saturation effect could place a limit on further development of GaN based devices. Further increase of the Mg concentration, up to 1 x 10{sup 20}cm{sup -3} leads to a decrease of the free hole concentration and an increase in defects. While low- to medium-brightness GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are remarkably tolerant of crystal defects, blue and UV GaN lasers are much less so. We used electron microscopy to investigate Mg doping in GaN. Our transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies revealed the formation of different types of Mg-rich defects [1,2]. In particular, high-resolution TEM allowed us to characterize a completely new type of defect in Mg-rich GaN. We found that the type of defect depended strongly on crystal growth polarity. For crystals grown with N-polarity, planar defects are distributed at equal distances (20 unit cells of GaN); these defects can be described as inversion domains [1]. For growth with Ga-polarity, we found a different type of defect [2]. These defects turn out to be three-dimensional Mg-rich hexagonal pyramids (or trapezoids) with their base on the (0001) plane and their six walls formed on {l_brace}1123{r_brace} planes (Fig. 1a). In [1120] and [1100] cross-section TEM micrographs the defects appear as triangular (Fig. 1b) and trapezoidal (Fig. 1c). In projection, the sides of these defects are inclined at 43{sup o} and 47{sup o} to the base depending on the observation direction. The pyramid size varies from 50{angstrom}-1000{angstrom} depending on the growth method, but the angle between the base and sides remain the same. The direction from the tip of the pyramid to its base (and from the shorter to the longer base for trapezoidal defects) is along the Ga to N matrix bond direction (Fig. 1a-d)

Correlations between spatially resolved Raman shifts and dislocation density in GaN films

Spatially resolved Raman spectra were measured on thick GaN samples with known dislocation density grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. The frequencies of the E-2 (high) and E-1 (transverse optical) phonons shift to lower wave number over a distance of 30 mum from the sapphire substrate/GaN interface. The shifts are linearly correlated with the dislocation density suggesting that the strain due to the lattice mismatch at the interface determines both quantities

High resistivity and ultrafast carrier lifetime in argon implanted GaAs

We have investigated the optoelectronic and structural properties of GaAs that has been implanted with Ar ions and subsequently annealed. The material exhibits all the basic optical and electronic characteristics typically observed in nonstoichiometric, As implanted or low‐temperature‐grown GaAs. Annealing of Ar implanted GaAs at 600 °C produces a highly resistive material with a subpicosecond trapping lifetime for photoexcited carriers. Transmission electron microscopy shows that, instead of As precipitates, characteristic for the nonstoichiometeric GaAs, voids ranging in size from 3 to 5 nm are observed in Ar implanted and annealed GaAs. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69637/2/APPLAB-69-17-2569-1.pd

Influence of Dopants on Defect Formation in GaN

Influence of p-dopants (Mg and Be) on the structure of GaN has been studied using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Bulk GaN:Mg and GaN:Be crystals grown by a high pressure and high temperature process and GaN:Mg grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition (MOCVD) have been studied. Structural dependence on growth polarity was observed in the bulk crystals. Spontaneous ordering in bulk GaN:Mg on c-plane (formation of Mg-rich planar defects with characteristics of inversion domains) was observed for growth in the N to Ga polar direction (N polarity). On the opposite site of the crystal (growth in the Ga to N polar direction) Mg-rich pyramidal defects empty inside (pinholes) were observed. Both these defects were also observed in MOCVD grown crystals. Pyramidal defects were also observed in the bulk GaN:Be crystals