A dual annealing cap composed of a thin, low temperature metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) deposited AlN adhesion layer and a thicker, sputtered AlN film for added mechanical strength enabled us to anneal Si-implanted layers for 30 min at temperatures up to 1250 °C. At higher temperatures the cap was destroyed by the large partial pressure of the N2 from the GaN, which exceeds the yield strength of AlN. Electrical activations as high as 70% and electron mobilities comparable to those of in situ doped films were achieved. Compared to other methods, the surfaces are better protected using this cap because it adheres better than sputtered AlN, SiO2, or Si3N4; does not crack like MOCVD grown AlN films deposited at normal temperatures (∼1100 °C); and is stronger than thin MOCVD grown AlN films deposited at low temperatures (∼600 °C). Even though N does not escape, and in so doing, forms thermal etch pits, the surface of the annealed GaN is roughened by solid state diffusion with the surface roughness increasing with the annealing temperature.

Discrete and coalesced monocrystalline GaN and AlxGa1−xN layers grown via pendeo-epitaxy (PE) originated from side walls of GaN seed stripes with and without SiNx top masks have been grown via organometallic vapor phase deposition on GaN/AlN/6H-SiC(0001) and GaN(0001)/AlN(0001)/3C-SiC(111)/Si(111) substrates. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies were used to evaluate the external microstructures and the distribution of dislocations, respectively. The dislocation density in the laterally grown sidewall regions and in the regions grown over the SiNx masks was reduced by at least five orders of magnitude relative to the initial GaN seed layers. Tilting of 0.2° in the coalesced GaN epilayers grown over the SiNx masks was determined via X-ray and selected area diffraction; however, tilting was not observed in the material suspended above the SiC substrate and that grown on unmasked stripes. A strong, low-temperature photoluminescence band-edge peak at ~3.45 eV with a FWHM of <300 µeV was determined on the overgrowth material grown on the silicon carbide substrates. The band-edge in the GaN grown on silicon substrates was shifted to a lower energy by 10 meV, indicative of a greater tensile stress.

No abstract

GaN films have been grown on 6H-SiC substrates employing a new form of selective lateral epitaxy, namely pendeo-epitaxy. This technique forces regrowth to start exclusively on sidewalls of GaN seed structures. Both discrete pendeo-epitaxial microstructures and coalesced single crystal layers of GaN have been achieved. SEM and TEM analysis are used to evaluate the morphology of the resulting GaN films. Process routes leading to GaN pendeo-epitaxial growth using silicon substrates have also been achieved and the preliminary results are discussed.

No abstract