Abstract
Transmission and scanning electron microscopies are used to examine the epitaxial lateral overgrowth of GaN on GaN nanocolumns grown on AlN/(0001)sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy. Initially, N-rich growth gave a bimodal morphology consisting of defect-free Ga-polar nanocolumns emanating from a compact, highly defective N-polar layer. Under subsequent Ga-rich conditions, the nanocolumns grew laterally to produce continuous Ga-polar overlayers. Threading dislocation (TD) densities in the overlayer were in the range of 108 - 109 cm-2, up to two orders of magnitude less than in the N-polar underlayer. It is proposed that the change in polarity is a key factor controlling the reduction in TD density.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 121902 |
Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
Volume | 92 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors are grateful to the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for support for this work under Grant No. EP/D080762/1.