The effect of single AlGaN interlayer on the structural properties of GaN epilayers grown on Si (111) substrates

High-quality and nearly crack-free GaN epitaxial layer was obtained by inserting a single AlGaN interlayer between GaN epilayer and high-temperature AlN buffer layer on Si (111) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. This paper investigates the effect of AlGaN interlayer on the structural proper-ties of the resulting GaN epilayer. It confirms from the optical microscopy and Raman scattering spectroscopy that the AlGaN interlayer has a remarkable effect on introducing relative compressive strain to the top GaN layer and preventing the formation of cracks. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis reveal that a significant reduction in both screw and edge threading dislocations is achieved in GaN epilayer by the insertion of AlGaN interlayer. The process of threading dislocation reduction in both AlGaN interlayer and GaN epilayer is demonstrated.

Reduction of tensile stress in GaN grown on Si(111) by inserting a low-temperature AlN interlayer

This study describes the growth of a low-temperature AlN interlayer for crack-free GaN growth on Si(111). It is demonstrated that, in addition to the lower growth temperature, growth of the AlN interlayer under Al-rich conditions is a critical factor for crack-free GaN growth on Si(111) substrates. The effect of the AlN interlayer thickness and NH3/TMA1 ratios on the lattice constants of subsequently grown high temperature GaN was investigated by X-ray triple crystal diffraction. The results show that the elimination of micro-cracks is related to the reduction of the tensile stress in the GaN epitaxial layers. This was also coincident with a greater number of pits formed in the AlN interlayer grown under Al rich conditions. It is proposed that these pits act as centers for the generation of misfit dislocations, which in turn leads to the reduction of tensile stress. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of the ratio of TMIn flow to group III flow on the properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

Triple-axis x-ray diffraction (TXRD) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra are used to assess the influence of the ratio of TMIn flow to group III flow on structural defects, such as dislocations and interface roughness, and optical properties of multiple quantum wells(MQWs). In this paper the mean densities of edge and screw dislocations in InGaN/GaN MQWs are obtained by W scan of every satellite peak of (0002) symmetric and (1012) asymmetric diffractions. At the same time, the interface roughness is measured by the radio of the full width at half maximum of satellite peaks to the peak orders. The experimental results showed that the density of dislocation, especially of edge dislocation, and interface roughness increase with the increase of the ratio, which leads to the decrease of PL properties. It also can be concluded that the edge dislocation acts as nonradiative recombination centers in InGaN/GaN MQWs. Also noticed is that the variation of the ratio has more influence on edge dislocation than on screw dislocation.

Investigations on V-defects in quaternary AlInGaN epilayers

The characteristics of V-defects in quaternary AlInGaN epilayers and their correlation with fluctuations of the In distribution are investigated. The geometric size of the V-defects is found to depend on the In composition of the alloy. The V-defects are nucleated within the AlInGaN layer and associated with threading dislocations. Line scan cathodoluminescence (CL) shows a redshift of the emission peak and an increase of the half width of the CL spectra as the electron beam approaches the apex of the V-defect. The total redshift decreases with decreasing In mole fraction in the alloy samples. Although the strain reduction may partially contribute to the CL redshift, indium segregation is suggested to be responsible for the V-defect formation and has a main influence on the respective optical properties. (C) 2004 American Institute Of Physics.

Effect of trimethylgallium flow on the structural and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition on (0001) sapphire substrates. Triple-axis X-ray diffraction (TXRD) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra are used to assess the influence of trimethylgallium (TMGa) flow on structural defects, such as dislocations and interface roughness, and the optical properties of the MQWs. In this paper, a method, involving an ! scan of every satellite peak of TXRD, is presented to measure the mean dislocation density of InGaN/GaN MQWs. The experimental results show that under certain conditions which keep the trimethlyindium flow constant, dislocation density and interface roughness decrease with the increase of TMGa flow, which will improve the PL properties. It can be concluded that dislocations, especially edge dislocations, act as nonradiative recombination centres in InGaN/GaN MQWs. Also noticed is that changing the TMGa flow has more influence on edge dislocations than screw dislocations.

Ordering growth of InAs quantum dots on ultra-thin InGaAs strained layer

InAs quantum dots (QDs) were grown On Ultra-thin In0.15Ga0.85As strained layers by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (00 1) substrates. Combining reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, we analyzed the stress field of dislocations in the strained layer/substrate interface. Specially, we revealed the relative position of QDs and dislocations. We found that the difference of the stress field around dislocations is prominent when the strained layer is ultra-thin and the stress field will directly affect the following growth. On the strained layer surface, In0.15Ga0.85As ridges will form at the inclined upside of dislocations. Then, InAs QDs will prefer nucleating on the ridges, there is relatively small stress between InAs and In0.15Ga0.85As. By selecting ultra-thin In0.15Ga0.85As layer (50 nm) and controlling the QD layer at just form QDs, we obtained ordered InAs QDs. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of critical thickness on structural and optical properties of InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells

InGaN/GaN multiquantum-well (MQW) structures grown by metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition on n-type GaN and capped by p-type GaN were investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, double crystal x-ray diffraction, and temperature-dependent photoluminescence. For the sample with strained-layer thicknesses greater than the critical thicknesses, a high density of pure edge type threading dislocations generated from MQW layers and extended to the cap layer was observed. These dislocations result from a relaxation of the strained layers when their thicknesses are beyond the critical thicknesses. Because of indium outdiffusion from the well layers due to the anneal effect of Mg-doped cap layer growth and defects generated from strain relaxation, the PL emission peak was almost depressed by the broad yellow band with an intensity maximum at 2.28 eV. But for the sample with strained-layer thicknesses less than the critical thicknesses, it has no such phenomenon. The measured critical thicknesses are consistent with the calculated values using the model proposed by Fischer, Kuhne, and Richter. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Study on the perfection of in situ P-injection synthesis LEC-InP single crystals

Undoped, S-doped and Fe-doped InP crystals with diameter up to 4-inch have been pulled in drop 10 0 drop -direction under P-rich condition by a rapid P-injection in situ synthesis liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) method. High speed photoluminescence mapping, etch-pit density (EPD) mapping and scanning electron microscopy have been used to characterize the samples of the single crystal ingots. Dislocations and electrical homogeneity of these samples are investigated and compared. By controlling the thermal field and the solid-liquid interface shape, 4-inch low-EPD InP single crystals have been successfully grown by the rapid P-injection synthesis LEC method. The EPD across the wafer of the ingots is less than 5 x 10(4) cm(-2). Cluster defects with a pore center are observed in the P-rich LEC grown InP ingots. These defects are distributed irregularly on a wafer and are surrounded by a high concentration of dislocations. The uniformity of the PL intensity across the wafer is influenced by these defects. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of rapid thermal annealing on InAs/InAlAs/InP quantum wires with different InAs deposited thickness

We have studied the effect of the post-growth rapid thermal annealing on optical and electrical properties of InAs/InAlAs/InP quantum wires with various InAs deposited thickness. Quite different annealing behaviors in photoluminescence and dark resistance are observed, which can be attributed to dislocations in samples. After annealing at 800 degrees C, quantum wires still exist in the sample with two monolayer InAs deposited thickness, but the temperature-dependent PL properties are changed greatly due to the intermixing of In/Al atoms. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Raman study on self-assembled InAs/InAlAs/InP(001) quantum wires

The phonons of self-assembled InAs/InAlAs/InP quantum wires (QWRs) have been studied by Raman scattering. The QWR LO phonons show an unusual frequency shift with the increase of the InAs deposited thickness due to dislocations. The QWR LO phonons are found to follow the selection rule of the LO phonons in bulk zinc-blende semiconductors. Because of the intermixing of In/Al atoms and the multiplication of dislocations, the post-growth thermal annealing treatment leads to a shift of the QWR LO phonons to lower frequency.

Design of the low-temperature AlN interlayer for GaN grown on Si(111) substrate

We have investigated the effect of the thickness and layer number of the low-temperature A1N interlayer (LT-A1N IL) on the stress relaxation and the crystal quality of GaN epilayers grown on Si (111) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. It is found that the stress decreases with the increase of the LT-AIN IL thickness, but the crystal quality of the GaN epilayer goes worse quickly when the LT-AIN IL thickness is larger than 16 nm. This is because the increase of the LT-AIN IL thickness will increase the coalescence thickness of its upper GaN layer, which sensitively affects the crystal quality of the epilayer. Using multiple LT-AIN ILs is an effective method not only to reduce the stress, but also to improve the crystal quality of the GaN epilayer. With the increase of the interlayer number, the probability that dislocations are blocked increases and the probability that dislocations are produced at interfaces decreases. Thus, dislocations in the most upper part of GaN are reduced, resulting in the improvement of the crystal quality. Finally, it is suggested that when the total thickness of the epilayer is fixed, both the thickness and the number of the LT-AIN IL should be carefully designed to reduce the stress and improve the crystal quality of the epilayer simultaneously. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Effect of misfit dislocation originated from strained layer on photoluminescence properties of InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells

In-x Ga1-xN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) samples with strain-layer thickness lager/less than the critical one are investigated by temperature-dependent photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy, and double crystal x-ray diffraction. For the sample with the strained-layer thickness greater than the critical thickness, we observe a high density of threading dislocations generated at the MQW layers and extended to the cap layer. These dislocations result from relaxation of the strain layer when its thickness is beyond the critical thickness. For the sample with the strained-layer thickness greater than the critical thickness, temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements give evidence that dislocations generated from the MQW layers due to strain relaxation are main reason of the poor photoluminescence property, and the dominating status change of the main peak with increasing temperature is attributed to the change of the radiative recombination from the areas including dislocations to the ones excluding dislocations.

Development of cross-hatch grid morphology and its effect on ordering growth of quantum dots

We investigate the development of cross-hatch grid surface morphology in growing mismatched layers and its effect on ordering growth of quantum dots (QDs). For a 60degrees dislocation (MD), the effective part in strain relaxation is the part with the Burgers vector parallel to the film/substrate interface within its b(edge) component; so the surface stress over a MD is asymmetric. When the strained layer is relatively thin, the surface morphology is cross-hatch grid with asymmetric ridges and valleys. When the strained layer is relatively thick, the ridges become nearly symmetrical, and the dislocations and the ridges inclined-aligned. In the following growth of InAs, QDs prefer to nucleate on top of the ridges. By selecting ultra-thin In0.15Ga0.85As layer (50nm) and controlling the QDs layer at just formed QDs, we obtained ordered InAs QDs. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of InAs deposition. thickness on the structural and optical properties of InAs quantum wires

The influence of InAs deposition thickness on the structural and optical properties of InAs/InAlAs quantum wires (QWR) superlattices (SLS) was studied. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results show that with increasing the InAs deposited thickness, the size uniformity and spatial ordering of InAs QWR SLS was greatly improved, but threading dislocations initiated from InAs nanowires for the sample with 6 monolayers (MLs) InAs deposition. In addition, the zig-zag features along the extending direction and lateral interlink of InAs nanowires were also observed. The InAs nanowires, especially for the first period, were laterally compact. These structural features may result in easy tunneling and coupling of charge carriers between InAs nanowires and will hamper their device applications to some extent. Some suggestions are put forward for further improving the uniformity of the stacked InAs QWRs, and for suppressing the formation of the threading dislocations in InAs QWR SLS.

Influence of AlN thickness on strain evolution of GaN layer grown on high-temperature AlN interlayer

The strain evolution of a GaN layer grown on a high- temperature AlN interlayer with varying AlN thickness by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition is investigated. In the growth process, the growth strain changes from compression to tension in the top GaN layer, and the thickness at which the compressive- to- tensile strain transition takes place is strongly influenced by the thickness of the AlN interlayer. It is confirmed from the x- ray diffraction results that the AlN interlayer has a remarkable effect on introducing relative compressive strain to the top GaN layer. The strain transition process during the growth of the top GaN layer can be explained by the threading dislocation inclination in the top GaN layer. Adjusting the AlN interlayer thickness could change the density of the threading dislocations in the top GaN layer and then change the stress evolution during the top GaN layer's growth.