This article is cited in 13 papers

Structural characterization of GaN epilayers on silicon: Effect of buffer layers

L. M. Sorokin^ab, A. E. Kalmykov^ab, V. N. Bessolov^ab, N. A. Feoktistov^ab, A. V. Osipov^ab, S. A. Kukushkin^ab, N. V. Veselov<sup>ab

a</sup> Ioffe Institute, St. Petersburg
^b Institute of Problems of Mechanical Engineering, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg

Abstract: Cross-sections of GaN/AlN/3C-SiC/Si(111) system have been studied by electron microscopy techniques. A nanometer thick buffer layer of silicon carbide on Si(111) substrate was formed using an original solid-phase epitaxy method. The subsequent layers of gallium nitride and aluminum nitride were grown by the method hydride-chloride vapor phase epitaxy. The resulting GaN layers display neither threading dislocations nor cracks on any scale. The main fraction of defects in GaN layers have the form of dislocation pileups that are localized at and oriented parallel to the GaN/AlN interface. The dislocation density in the obtained GaN layers is (1–2) $\times$ 10$^9$ cm$^{-2}$, which corresponds to a minimum level reported in the available literature. The buffer AlN layer contains nanopores, which reduce the level of stresses at the GaN/AlN interface and thus almost completely inhibit the formation of threading dislocations.

Received: 07.12.2010

 English version: Technical Physics Letters, 2011, 37:4, 326–329

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