Strain Relaxation in GaN/AlN Films Grown on Vicinal and On-Axis SiC Substrates

Abstract

Strain relaxation in the GaN/AlN/6H-SiC epitaxial system grown by vicinal surface epitaxy (VSE) is investigated and compared with that in on-axis epitaxy. High resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurements show that GaN films grown by VSE have improved crystalline quality. High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) studies reveal that there are two types of misfit dislocations (MDs) at AlN/6H-SiC interfaces: 60˚ complete dislocations along <1120 > directions with Burgers vector 1/3<1120 > and 60˚ Shockley partials along <10 10 > directions with Burgers vector 1/3<10 10 >. The latter are usually geometrical partial misfit dislocations (GPMDs) that are dominant in VSE to accommodate the lattice mismatch and stacking sequence mismatch simultaneously. In VSE, it is the high-density GPMDs formed at the vicinal surface steps that facilitate rapid strain relaxation at the initial stage of deposition and hence lead to superior crystalline quality of the subsequently grown GaN films.