Method for measurement of lattice parameter of cubic GaN layers on GaAs (001)

An extended technique derived from triple-axis diffraction setup was proposed to measure lattice parameters of cubic GaN(c-GaN) films. The fully relaxed lattice parameters of c-GaN are determined to be 4.5036+0.0004 Angstrom, which is closer to the values of a hypothetical perfect crystal. The speculated zero setting correction (Deltatheta) is very slight and within the range of the accuracy of measurement. Additionally, we applied this method to analyze strain of four different kinds of c-GaN samples. It is found that in-plane strain caused by large lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficients mismatch directly influence the epilayer growth at high temperatures, indicating that the relaxation of tensile strain after thermal annealing helps to improve the crystalline quality of c-GaN films and optical properties. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical constants of cubic GaN/GaAs(001): Experiment and modeling

The optical constants epsilon(E)=epsilon(1)(E)+iepsilon(2)(E) of unintentionally doped cubic GaN grown on GaAs(001) have been measured at 300 K using spectral ellipsometry in the range of 1.5-5.0 eV. The epsilon(E) spectra display a structure, associated with the critical point at E-0 (direct gap) and some contribution mainly coming from the E-1 critical point. The experimental data over the entire measured spectral range (after oxide removal) has been fit using the Holden-Munoz model dielectric function [M. Munoz et al., J. Appl. Phys. 92, 5878 (2002)]. This model is based on the electronic energy-band structure near critical points plus excitonic and band-to-band Coulomb-enhancement effects at E-0, E-0 + Delta(0) and the E-1, E-1 + Delta(1), doublet. In addition to evaluating the energy of the E-0 critical point, the binding energy (R-1) of the two-dimensional exciton related to the E-1 critical point was estimated using the effective mass/k.p theory. The line, shape of the imaginary part of the cubic-GaN dielectric function shows excitonic effects at room temperature not withstanding that the exciton was not resolved. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Optimization of cubic GaN growth by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition based on residual strain relaxation

The reduction of residual strain in cubic GaN growth by inserting a thermoannealing process is investigated. It is found that the epilayer with smaller tensile strain is subject to a wider optimal "growth window." Based on this process, we obtain the high-quality GaN film of pure cubic phase with the thickness of 4 mum by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The photoluminescence spectrum at room temperature shows the thick GaN layer has a near-band emission peak with a full width at half maximum of 42 meV which confirms its high crystal quality, further supported by the x-ray (002) diffraction measurement. A simplified model is demonstrated to interpret this strain effect on the growth process. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Structural characteristic of cubic GaN nucleation layers on GaAs(001) substrates by MOCVD

The structural characteristic of cubic GaN (C-GaN) nucleation layers on GaAs(0 0 1) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition was in detail investigated first by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, using a Huber five-circle diffractometer and an intense synchrotron X-ray source. The XRD results indicate that the C-GaN nucleation layers are highly crystallized. Phi scans and pole figures of the (1 1 1) reflections give a convincing proof that the GaN nucleation layers show exactly cubic symmetrical structure. The GaN(1 1 1) reflections at 54.74degrees in chi are a measurable component, however (002) components parallel to the substrate surface are not detected. Possible explanations are suggested. The pole figures of {1 0 (1) over bar 0} reflections from H-GaN inclusions show that the parasitic H-GaN originates from the C-GaN nucleation layers. The coherence lengths along the close-packed [1 1 1] directions estimated from the (1 1 1) peaks are nanometer order of magnitude. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Wafer bonding technique used for the integration of cubic GaN/GaAs (001) with Si substrate

We successfully used the metal mediated-wafer bonding technique in transferring the as-grown cubic GaN LED structure of Si substrate. The absorbing GaAs substrate was removed by using the chemical solutions of NH4OH : H2O2=1 : 10. SEM and PL results show that wafer bonding technique could transfer the cubic GaN epilayers uniformly to Si without affecting the physical and optical properties of epilayers. XRD result shows that there appeared new peaks related to AgGa2 and Ni4N diffraction, indicating that the metals used as adhesive and protective layers interacted with the p-GaN layer during the long annealing process. It is just the reaction that ensures the reliability of the integration of GaN with metal and minor contact resistance on the interface.

Effect on the optical properties and surface morphology of cubic GaN grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using isoelectronic indium surfactant doping

The surfactant effect of isoelectronic indium doping during metalorganic chemical vapor deposition growth of cubic GaN on GaAs (1 0 0) substrates was studied. Its influence on the optical properties and surface morphology was investigated by using room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and atomic force microscopy. It is shown that the sample with small amount of In-doping has a narrower PL linewidth, and a smoother surface than undoped cubic GaN layers. A slight red shift of the near-band-edge emission peak was observed. These results revealed that, for small TMIn flow rates, indium played the role of the surfactant doping and effectively improved the cubic GaN film quality; for large TMIn flow rates, the alloying formation of Ga1-xInxN might have occurred. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

ECR plasma in growth of cubic GaN by low pressure MOCVD

To heteroepitaxally grow the crystalline cubic-GaN (c-GaN) film on the substrates with large lattice mismatch is basically important for fabricating the blue or ultraviolet laser diodes based on cubic group III nitride materials. We have obtained the crystalline c-GaN film and the heteroepitaxial interface between c-Gan and GaAs (001) substrate by the ECR Plasma-Assisted Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (PA-MOCVD) under low-pressure and low-temperature (similar to600degreesC) on a homemade ECR-plasma Semiconductor Processing Device (ESPD). In order to decrease the growth temperature, the ECR plasma source was adopted as the activated nitrogen source, therefore the working pressure of MOCVD was decreased down to the region less than 1 Pa. To eliminate the damages from energetic ions of current plasma source, a Multi-cusp cavity,coupling ECR Plasma source (MEP) was selected to use in our experiment. To decrease the strain and dislocations induced from the large lattice mismatch between c-GaN and GaAs substrate, the plasma pretreatment procedure i.e., the initial growth technique was investigated The experiment arrangements, the characteristics of plasma and the growth procedure, the characteristics on-GaN film and interface between c-GaN and GaAs(001), and the roles of ECR plasma are described in this contribution.

Defect states in cubic GaN epilayer grown on GaAs by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Defect states in cubic GaN epilayers grown on GaAs were investigated with the photoluminescence technique. One shallow donor and two acceptors were identified to be involved in relevant optical transitions. The binding energies of the free excitons, the bound excitons. the donor and the acceptors were determined. These values are in good agreement with recent theoretical results.

X-Ray diffraction determination of the fractions of hexagonal and twinned phases in cubic GaN layers grown on (001)GaAs substrate

Being an established qualitative method for investigating presence of additional phases in single crystal materials, X-ray diffraction has been used widely to characterize their structural qualities and to improve the preparation techniques. Here quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis is described which takes into account diffraction geometry and multiplicity factors. Using double-crystal X-ray four-circle diffractometer, pole figures of cubic (002), {111} and hexagonal {10 (1) over bar0} and reciprocal space mapping were measured to investigate the structural characters of mixed phases and to obtain their diffraction geometry and multiplicity factors. The fractions of cubic twins and hexagonal inclusions were calculated by the integrated intensities of rocking curves of cubic (002), cubic twin {111}, hexagonal {10 (1) over bar0} and hexagonal {10 (1) over bar1}. Without multiplicity factors, the calculated results are portions of mixed phases in only one {111} plane of cubic GaN. Diffraction geometry factor can eliminate the effects of omega and X angles on the irradiated surface areas for different scattered planes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface roughness and high density of cubic twins and hexagonal inclusions in cubic GaN epilayers

Surface roughness and its correlation with the polarity of internal hexagonal inclusions and cubic twins have been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface roughness resulted from large amount of strips, which prolonged in [1 (1) over bar0] direction with small size in [110] or [110] direction. The sidestep of each strip is just the top of high density of hexagonal inclusions or cubic microtwins. Moreover, XRD shows that the amount of hexagonal inclusions and cubic microtwins measured in [110] direction are twice or more as much as in [110] direction. Therefore, it is hexagonal inclusions, cubic twins and their distributive polarity that is responsible to the surface characteristics of cubic GaN epilayers.

Orientation relationship between hexagonal inclusions and cubic GaN grown on GaAs(001) substrates

Cubic GaN/GaAs(0 0 1) epilayers and hexagonal inclusions are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The X-ray {0 0 0 2} and (1 0 (1) over bar 0) pole figures show that the orientation relationships between cubic GaN and hexagonal inclusions are (1 1 1)//(0 0 0 1), <1 1 2 >//<1 0 (1) over bar 0 >. The distribution of hexagonal inclusions mainly results from the interfacial bonding disorder in the grain boundaries parallel to hexagonal <0 0 0 1 > directions and the lattice mismatch in <0 0 0 1 > directions on {1 0 (1) over bar 0} planes. In order to reduce the energy increase in cubic epilayers, hexagonal lamellas with smaller sizes in <0 0 0 1 > directions often nucleate inside the buffer layer or near the interface between the buffer layer and the epitaxial layer, and penetrate through the whole epitaxial layer with this orientation relationship. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Polarity dependence of hexagonal inclusions and cubic twins in GaN/GaAs(001) epilayers measured by conventional X-ray pole figure and grazing incident diffraction pole figure

The distribution of mixed phases and its dependence on the polarity of cubic GaN epilayers are investigated by conventional X-ray pole figure and grazing incident diffraction (GID) pole figure. The hexagonal inclusions and cubic twins can be classified into two portions: one is formed with strict crystalline orientations, the other with crystalline misorientations. The former can be measured by conventional pole figures which reveal that the density of lamellate hexagonal grains and cubic twins located on (1 1 1)(Ga) and ((1) over bar (1) over bar1)(Ga) along [1 (1) over bar 0] direction are higher than those on ((1) over bar 1 1), and (1 (1) over bar 1)(N) along [110] direction. However, the low signals from tiny mixed phases with crystalline misorientations, detected by GID pole figures, distribute in a larger phi region near the [1 1 0] and [(1) over bar (1) over bar 0] directions with much weaker intensity, and in a smaller phi region near the [1 (1) over bar 0] and [(1) over bar 1 0] directions with slightly stronger intensity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth of cubic GaN by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of cubic GaN by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition has been performed on SiO2-patterned GaN laver. The mechanism of lateral overgrowth is studied It was found that the morphology of ELO GaN stripes strongly depended on the direction of stripe window openings, which was discussed based on the different growth rates of (1 1 1)A and (1 1 1)B. Under the optimized growth condition, single-phase cubic GaN was deposited successfully. The peak position of near-band emission in ELO GaN has a redshift of 13 meV compared with the conventionally grown sample, which may be due to the partial release of stress during the ELO process. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Multiplicity factor and diffraction geometry factor for single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and measurement of phase content in cubic GaN/GaAs(001) epilayers

On the basis of integrated intensity of rocking curves, the multiplicity factor and the diffraction geometry factor for single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were proposed and a general formula for calculating the content of mixed phases was obtained. With a multifunction four-circle X-ray double-crystal diffractometer, pole figures of cubic (002), {111} and hexagonal {1010} and reciprocal space mapping were measured to investigate the distributive character of mixed phases and to obtain their multiplicity factors and diffraction geometry factors. The contents of cubic twins and hexagonal inclusions were calculated by the integrated intensities of rocking curves of cubic (002), cubic twin {111}, hexagonal {1010} and {1011}.