Nanoheteroepitaxy of GaN on a nanopore array Si surface

We report the growth by molecular beam epitaxy and the optical characterization of GaN films nucleated on a Si(111) surface that has been patterned by dry etching an ordered array of nanometer-scale pores prior to the growth. The etching is performed using an anodized aluminum oxide membrane as a mask. The nanopore array surface with the pore diameter of 60 nm and periodicity of 110 nm exhibits significant effects on emissivity and the optical properties of the resulting film. Room-temperature photoluminescence intensity increases by a factor of 5 for GaN grown on nanoporous Si. Peak shifts in photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy suggest that the material grown on nanopores may be more relaxed than films grown on flat substrates. The effects of nanopore topography on the nucleation of GaN films offer a potential path to significant improvement of III-nitride heteroepitaxy for device applications. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.