Local piezoelectric properties in Na-flux GaN bulk single crystals

The local piezoelectricity of a Na-flux GaN crystal grown on a multipoint-seed-GaN template is investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy. The piezoresponse is critically dependent on two types of growth regions that are dominantly formed in the Na-flux GaN crystal: the c-growth sector (cGS), which is grown on top of the point-seed GaN surface with a growth front of ( 0001 ) planes, and the facet-growth sector (FGS), which is grown on the side of cGS with { 10 1 ¯ 1 } facets. Quantitative analyses reveal the GaN surface displacements at cGS that result from the piezoresponses increase with the applied AC voltage: the measured values well reflect the piezoelectric constant of d33 in GaN. The piezoresponses at the FGS and the boundary between the cGS and FGS are less sensitive than that at the cGS. A combination of cathodoluminescence and multiphoton excitation photoluminescence techniques clarifies that a local reduction of the piezoresponse observed in cGS is attributed to microscale FGSs that exist randomly in cGS. The dependence of the piezoresponse on the growth regions is quantitatively discussed from three possible viewpoints that potentially affect the polarization properties of GaN: residual strain, local crystallographic tilting, and inherent carrier distribution. As a result, a carrier screening effect is the most probable candidate to induce reduction of the piezoresponse in the FGSs of GaN crystals.