The remote epitaxy of GaN via graphene has attracted much attention due to the potential of easy mechanical exfoliation, and the exfoliated layers can be transferred onto foreign substrates according to the application needs, which is beneficial to improve the performance of GaN-based devices. In this work, a GaN epi-layer was grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition on the monolayer-graphene-coated AlN/sapphire or GaN substrates. The influence of growth temperature, carrier gas, and substrate on the exfoliation of the GaN epi-layer was studied. When the growth temperature is no more than 800 °C and N2 is used as the carrier gas, the monolayer graphene can be retained on the AlN/sapphire substrate during the growth process. Thus, the GaN epi-layer can be exfoliated successfully. However, the monolayer graphene will be destroyed under a growth temperature of 850 °C, and lead to the failure of exfoliation. Besides, the monolayer graphene can also be damaged when the H2 carrier gas or GaN substrate is employed with a growth temperature of 800 °C. This causes the GaN epi-layer to be exfoliated not as well. The experimental results illustrate that suitable growth conditions and substrate are important for realizing the exfoliation of a GaN epi-layer.

Two-dimensional (2D) release layers are commonly used to realize flexible nitride films. Here, high-quality, large-area, and transferable nitride films can be precisely controlled grown on O2-plasma-assisted patterned graphene. The first-principles calculation indicates that the patterned graphene introduced by O2 plasma changes the original wettability of sapphire and the growth behavior of Al atoms is related with layer number of graphene, which is consistent with experimental results. The as-fabricated violet GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) show high stability and high light output power (LOP). This work provides a general rule for the growth of high-quality and transferable III-nitride films on graphene from the atomic scale and provide actual demonstration in LED. The advantages of the proposed new growth method can supply new ways for electronic and optoelectronic flexible devices of group III nitride semiconductors.

We report a novel diffusion–adsorption regulation growth method in the epitaxy of AlN on graphene for the high-quality and transferable large-size AlN film.

In the van der Waals epitaxy of III-nitride semiconductor materials, graphene plays an increasingly important role. In this work, to improve the quality of the gallium nitride (GaN) film on sapphire, we innovatively propose a composite insertion layer of graphene/silica nanospheres (G/S-n). The G/S-n composite insertion layer successfully realizes van der Waals self-assembly for the silica nanospheres. The G/S-n buffer layer can effectively block threading dislocations during the growth of GaN materials, and experimental results show that it significantly enhances the quality of the GaN film. The screw- and edge-dislocation densities are reduced from 1.75 × 108 to 7.81 × 107 cm2 and from 8.66 × 108 to 5.84 × 108 cm2, respectively. This work provides a foundation for future research into the van der Waals epitaxy of nitrides.

The emergence of visible light information transmission systems is profoundly affecting the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The complex sensing and driving circuits of the IoT have become the key factor to hinder signal conversion and processing. Herein, a high‐performance self‐variable‐voltage light information transmission integrated system (SVV‐LTS) is reported and its application potential in low‐power, self‐powered optical communication transmission systems is demonstrated. Diffusion–adsorption regulation growth method and laser induction technology are innovatively used to realize high‐brightness light‐emitting diode (LED) and flexible micro‐supercapacitor (MSC) on graphene. Meanwhile, MSC realizes the dual functions of supplying power to the system, realizing pressure signal response, and converting pressure signals into electrical signals. Finally, the MSC as power, sensor and LED as signal transmitter are integrated into an SVV‐LTS. The response time of SVV‐LTS is 80 ms and the luminous wavelength fluctuation of the LED is stable at 1.2 nm. This study will provide a new approach to realize low‐power optical communication transmission systems affecting the IoT technology.