Communication—Electron-Beam Stimulated Release of Dislocations from Pinning Sites in GaN

Abstract

To achieve low leakage in GaN-based power devices and improve reliability in optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes, it is necessary to reduce dislocation density in GaN epitaxial layers and control their introduction during processing. We have previously shown that dislocations can be introduced at room temperature in GaN. The effect of electron-beam irradiation at fixed points on the shift of such freshly introduced dislocations in GaN has been studied. It is observed that dislocations can be displaced at distances up to 10–15 μm from the beam position. The analysis carried out allows to conclude that the main reason limiting the dislocation travelling distance in GaN is the existence of large density of pinning defects.