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In this study, AlN epilayers were grown by ammonia-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on 3 nm h-BN grown on c-sapphire substrates. Their structural properties were investigated by comparing as-grown and postgrowth annealed layers. The role of annealing on the crystalline quality and surface morphology was studied as a function of AlN thickness and the annealing duration and temperature. Optimum annealing conditions were identified. The results of X-ray diffraction showed that optimization of the annealing recipe led to a significant reduction in the symmetric (0 0 0 2) and skew symmetric (1 0 −1 1) reflections, which was associated with a reduction in edge and mixed threading dislocation densities (TDDs). Furthermore, the impact on the crystalline structure of AlN and its surface was studied, and the results showed a transition from a surface with high roughness to a smoother surface morphology with a significant reduction in roughness. In addition, the annealing duration was increased at 1650 °C to further understand the impact on both AlN and h-BN, and the results showed a diffusion interplay between AlN and h-BN. Finally, an AlN layer was regrown on the top of an annealed template, which led to large terraces with atomic steps and low roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have grown (11-22)-oriented GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N quantum wells (QWs) using molecular beam epitaxy on GaN (11-22)-oriented templates grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy on m-plane oriented sapphire substrates. The performance of epitaxial growth of GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N heterostructures on the semi-polar orientation (11-22) in terms of surface roughness and structural properties, i.e., strain relaxation mechanisms is discussed. In addition, high resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals very smooth QW interfaces. The photoluminescence of such samples are strictly originating from radiative recombination of free excitons for temperatures above 100 K. At high temperature, the population of localized excitons, moderately trapped (5 meV) at low temperature, is negligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaN films epitaxially-grown on M-sapphire may have different orientations, either nonpolar and semipolar. In this paper, the different epitaxial relationships are investigated in details thanks to transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that these relationships drastically depend on the nitridation conditions. Mechanisms explaining the different epitaxial relationships are proposed. These mechanisms take into account the formation of a nitridation layer, the lattice mismatches between the growing films, and the substrate, and the surface energies. It is, moreover, shown that the difference of symmetries between the M-sapphire surface and the epitaxial films leads to the formation of growth twins for the [formula] and [formula] orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semipolar GaN crystal stripes larger than 100 μm with dislocation densities below 5×106 cm-2 are achieved using a low cost fabrication process. An original sapphire patterning procedure is proposed, enabling selective growth of semipolar oriented GaN stripes while confining the defects to specific areas. Radiative and non-radiative crystalline defects are investigated by cathodoluminescence and can be correlated to the development of crystal microstructure during the growth process. A dislocation reduction mechanism, supported by transmission electron microscopy, is proposed. This method represents a step forward toward low-cost quasi-bulk semipolar GaN epitaxial platforms with an excellent structural quality which will allow for even more efficient III-nitride based devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difference of growth temperatures between InGaN quantum wells and GaN barriers has detrimental effects on the properties of the wells. Different capping processes of InGaN quantum well with a thin AlGaN layer have been investigated to prevent these effects. Both structural and optical properties of the samples, grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, were studied through transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction and room temperature photoluminescence. The average quantum well thickness and its indium composition were determined by digital processing of lattice fringes in cross-sectional TEM images. From the analysis of the well thickness distribution, it is shown that AlGaN as a capping layer helps to compensate an unwanted undulation at the upper InGaN QW-barrier interface. Moreover, when deposited at the same temperature as InGaN, the AlGaN layer is effective in avoiding or reducing the evaporation and/or diffusion of indium from InGaN wells, which results in the thinning of the well. It therefore helps to extend the emission wavelength up to 540 nm with a reduced degradation of the room temperature photoluminescence efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a structural study of silicon (Si) thin films grown on cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) by chemical vapor deposition. The presence of grains rotated by 90° around the growth direction in the Si layer is directly related to the presence of antiphase domains on the 3C-SiC surface. We were able to provide a direct evidence that the 90° rotation of Si grains around the growth direction occurs exactly on the termination of antiphase boundaries (APBs) in 3C-SiC layer. Increasing the 3C-SiC thickness reduces the APBs density on 3C-SiC surface leading to a clear improvement of the uppermost Si film crystal quality. Furthermore, we observed by high resolution plan-view TEM images the presence of hexagonal Si domains limited to few nm in size. These hexagonal Si domains are inclusions in small Si grains enclosed in larger ones rotated by 90°. Finally, we propose a model of grains formation in the Si layer taking into consideration the effect of the 3C-SiC thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report on the epitaxial growth of hexagonal c-axis GaN on Si(001) substrates by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). High-temperature (HT) AlN buffers were used. The use of 4° misoriented Si(001) substrates allows the growth of GaN layers with a single crystal orientation and low roughness and mosaïcity. Coalescence of the GaN films is obtained for thicknesses of about 1μm. Crystal quality, strain state, polarity, and optical properties, assessed by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence, are discussed and compared with those of GaN layers grown on Si(111) substrates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]