Halide Vapor Phase Epitaxy of Gallium Nitride Films on Sapphire and Silicon Substrates

Abstract

A major limitation of the current technology for GaN epitaxy is the availability of suitable substrates matched in both lattice constant and thermal expansion coefficient. One alternative for the development of GaN substrates rests in the application of halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) to produce GaN films at high growth rates. In this paper, we describe the growth of thick GaN films via the HVPE technique on (0001) sapphire and (111) Si substrates. At a temperature of 1030°C, films are grown at rates between 70 and 90 μm/hr, yielding total thicknesses exceeding 200 μm on sapphire. DCXRD measurements of GaN/sapphire indicate FWHM values less than 220 arcsec on 180 μm thick films. Room temperature PL measurements of GaN/sapphire indicate strong emission at 3.41 eV, with a FWHM value of 65 meV. Moreover, no detectable deep level emission was found in room temperature PL measurement. Under optimized conditions, films are morphologically smooth and optically clear. The GaN morphology appears to be a strong function of the initial nucleation conditions, which in turn are strongly affected by the partial pressure of GaCl. HVPE growth on (111) Si substrates is accomplished using an AlN MOVPE buffer layer.