Role of an ultra-thin AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer on the strain engineering of GaN films grown on Si(110) and Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy
- Advanced Power Electronics Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Umezono 1-1-1, Central 2, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8568 (Japan)
- School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)
We investigate the role of an ultra-thin AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer (SL-IL) on the strain engineering of the GaN films grown on Si(110) and Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that micro-cracks limitted only at the SL-IL position are naturally generated. These micro-cracks play an important role in relaxing the tensile strain caused by the difference of the coefficient of thermal expansion between GaN and Si and keeping the residual strain in the crack-free GaN epilayers resulted from the SL-IL during the growth. The mechanism understanding of the strain modulation by the SL-IL in the GaN epilayers grown on Si substrates makes it possible to design new heterostructures of III-nitrides for optic and electronic device applications.
- OSTI ID:
- 22217816
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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