Self-organized domain formation in low-dislocation-density GaN

The growth of high-quality GaN layers on a wafer size appropriate for device applications is based on heteroepitaxy on foreign substrates. Heteroepitaxial GaN layers with low densities (below 10(6) cm(-2)) of extended structural defects can be achieved by lateral overgrowth of mask-patterned templates or by the growth of extremely thick GaN layers as a route towards free-standing GaN-pseudosubstrates. We present the microscopic analysis of such low-dislocation-density GaN layers by means of scanning cathodoluminescence microscopy (CL). Several state-of-the-art concepts of lateral overgrowth are compared, including two-step epitaxial lateral overgrowth of stripe masks (ELO), multi-stack ELO comprising several mask layers as well as an alternative approach involving in situ SiN nano-masks. The self-organized formation of typical microscopic growth domains with characteristic optical properties is evidenced by CL for all lateral overgrowth techniques. This behavior directly fingerprints the different growth rates and the specific impurity incorporation on non-equivalent GaN facets, e.g. (0001), {1 (1) over bar 01} or {11 (2) over bar2}, always present during lateral overgrowth and closely related to the mask geometry. Accordingly, characteristic CL line shapes found in ELO on periodic, micrometer scale mask patterns are also detected for GaN on in situ SiN nanomasks and clearly reveal the individual facet structure during overgrowth. For thick GaN layers, CL is used to detect the spontaneous appearance of inclined facets inside inverted pyramidal defects. Optimized, thick GaN layers exclusively formed by (0001)-growth are proven to be laterally homogeneous despite periodically varying residual stress and dislocation density of the underlying ELO template. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.