Defects and Interfaces in GaN Epitaxy

Abstract

The recent developments in III-V-nitride thin-film technology has produced significant advances in high-performance devices operating in the blue and green range of the visible spectrum. These materials are grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on (0001) sapphire substrates. Highly specular surfaces are possible by use of low-temperature buffer layers following the method developed by Akasaki et al. The thin films thus grown have an interesting microstructure, quite different from other known semiconductors. In particular, epilayers with high optoelectronic performance are characterized by high dislocation densities, several orders of magnitude above those found in other optoelectronic semiconductor films. The lattice mismatch between sapphire and GaN is ∼14%, and the thermal-expansion difference is close to 80%. In spite of these large differences, little thermal strain is measurable at room temperature in epilayers grown at temperatures above 1000°C. Epitaxy on other systems, like SiC, with much better similarity in lattice parameter and thermal-expansion characteristics, has failed to produce better performance than films grown on sapphire. The origin of these puzzling properties of nitrides on sapphire rests in its microstructure. This article presents a survey of the microstructure associated with epitaxy of nitrides by MOCVD.