The use of a low-temperature layer of GaN formed by hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) as a template to grow high-quality HVPE films is demonstrated. Using layers formed by reacting GaCl and NH3 at 550 °C and annealed at a growth temperature of 1050 °C, thick films of GaN can be grown by HVPE with fewer than 108 dislocations per cm2. Dislocation densities measured by high-resolution x-ray diffraction, atomic-force microscopy step termination density and plan-view transmission electron miscroscopy reveal that ∼23 μm films have dislocation densities of ∼6×107 cm−2. Obtaining high-quality single-crystal character films was found to be dependent on several factors, most importantly, the rate of temperature increase to growth temperature and the layer thickness.

Organic color centers in single-walled carbon nanotubes have demonstrated exceptional ability to generate single photons at room temperature in the telecom range. Combining the color centers with pristine air-suspended nanotubes would be desirable for improved performance, but all current synthetic methods occur in solution which makes them incompatible. Here we demonstrate the formation of color centers in air-suspended nanotubes using a vapor-phase reaction. Functionalization is directly verified by photoluminescence spectroscopy, with unambiguous statistics from more than a few thousand individual nanotubes. The color centers show strong diameter-dependent emission, which can be explained with a model for chemical reactivity considering strain along the tube curvature. We also estimate the defect density by comparing the experiments with simulations based on a one-dimensional exciton diffusion equation. Our results highlight the influence of the nanotube structure on vapor-phase reactivity and emission properties, providing guidelines for the development of high-performance near-infrared quantum light sources.