The growth and characterization of GaN on sapphire and silicon

MOCVD (metalorganic chemical vapor deposition) of GaN on both silicon and sapphire substrates was studied over the temperature range of 370 to 1050° C. The crystallinity and surface morphology of the films varied with the deposition temperatures. By first depositing an AlN buffer layer, the crystallinity of GaN was improved for low temperature depositions, but little improvement in the surface morphology was observed. On sapphire (0001) substrates, epitaxial layers were produced at a deposition temperature as low as 500° C. With silicon substrates, polycrystalline films were produced which were randomly oriented on the (111) plane and highly oriented on the (100) plane. The surfaces of the films were smooth and specular at low deposition temperatures, but degraded at higher temperatures. The energy band gaps of these films are in the vicinity of 3.4 eV, close to where they are expected. Elemental analysis by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) showed the films to be stoichiometric with low residual impurity concentrations.