Growth of non-polar and semi-polar GaN on sapphire substrates by magnetron sputter epitaxy
(2025) In Applied Surface Science Advances 26.- Abstract
Non-polar and semi-polar III-nitrides have beneficial properties for various electronic applications such as light emitting diodes and photodetectors due to the elimination or reduction of polarization effects. However, cost-effective manufacturing of non-polar and semi-polar III-nitride films with sufficient film quality is not feasible yet. We report an investigation of the morphological and structural properties of GaN grown on m-plane and r-plane sapphire by low-temperature reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy. X-ray and electron diffraction techniques are used to analyze the crystallographic orientation of the epilayer relative to the substrate, uncovering epitaxial growth of semi-polar and non-polar GaN films with single-crystal... (More)
Non-polar and semi-polar III-nitrides have beneficial properties for various electronic applications such as light emitting diodes and photodetectors due to the elimination or reduction of polarization effects. However, cost-effective manufacturing of non-polar and semi-polar III-nitride films with sufficient film quality is not feasible yet. We report an investigation of the morphological and structural properties of GaN grown on m-plane and r-plane sapphire by low-temperature reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy. X-ray and electron diffraction techniques are used to analyze the crystallographic orientation of the epilayer relative to the substrate, uncovering epitaxial growth of semi-polar and non-polar GaN films with single-crystal character. Although the GaN film exhibits a small tilt with respect to the substrate surface, no rotation domains are observed. Non-polar {112¯0} GaN grown on r-plane sapphire exhibits enhanced structural quality using lower growth temperatures, while semi-polar {112¯2} GaN grown on m-plane sapphire exhibits higher crystal quality when grown at higher growth temperatures. The films show structural anisotropy with the ω-FWHM of the reflection along the surface normal strongly depending on the azimuth angle with respect to the scattering plane.
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- author
- Pingen, Katrin ; Wolff, Niklas ; Hinz, Alexander M. ; Sandström, Per ; Beuer, Susanne ; Kienle, Lorenz ; Darakchieva, Vanya LU ; Hultman, Lars ; Birch, Jens and Hsiao, Ching Lien
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- GaN, Magnetron sputter epitaxy, Non-polar GaN, Semi-polar GaN, TEM, XRD
- in
- Applied Surface Science Advances
- volume
- 26
- article number
- 100722
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:86000143618
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100722
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3471004a-4803-4855-89e6-739dc3cfac72
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 09:51:05
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 09:51:46
@article{3471004a-4803-4855-89e6-739dc3cfac72,
abstract = {{<p>Non-polar and semi-polar III-nitrides have beneficial properties for various electronic applications such as light emitting diodes and photodetectors due to the elimination or reduction of polarization effects. However, cost-effective manufacturing of non-polar and semi-polar III-nitride films with sufficient film quality is not feasible yet. We report an investigation of the morphological and structural properties of GaN grown on m-plane and r-plane sapphire by low-temperature reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy. X-ray and electron diffraction techniques are used to analyze the crystallographic orientation of the epilayer relative to the substrate, uncovering epitaxial growth of semi-polar and non-polar GaN films with single-crystal character. Although the GaN film exhibits a small tilt with respect to the substrate surface, no rotation domains are observed. Non-polar {112¯0} GaN grown on r-plane sapphire exhibits enhanced structural quality using lower growth temperatures, while semi-polar {112¯2} GaN grown on m-plane sapphire exhibits higher crystal quality when grown at higher growth temperatures. The films show structural anisotropy with the ω-FWHM of the reflection along the surface normal strongly depending on the azimuth angle with respect to the scattering plane.</p>}},
author = {{Pingen, Katrin and Wolff, Niklas and Hinz, Alexander M. and Sandström, Per and Beuer, Susanne and Kienle, Lorenz and Darakchieva, Vanya and Hultman, Lars and Birch, Jens and Hsiao, Ching Lien}},
keywords = {{GaN; Magnetron sputter epitaxy; Non-polar GaN; Semi-polar GaN; TEM; XRD}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Applied Surface Science Advances}},
title = {{Growth of non-polar and semi-polar GaN on sapphire substrates by magnetron sputter epitaxy}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100722}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100722}},
volume = {{26}},
year = {{2025}},
}