Realizing crack-free high-aluminum-mole-fraction AlGaN on patterned GaN beyond the critical layer thickness

Mehnke, Frank; Fischer, Alec M.; Xu, Zhiyu; Bouchard, Henri; Detchprohm, Theeradetch; Shen, Shyh-Chiang; Ponce, Fernando A.; Dupuis, Russell D.

doi:10.1063/5.0073489

Title: Realizing crack-free high-aluminum-mole-fraction AlGaN on patterned GaN beyond the critical layer thickness

Journal Article · 16 February 2022 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0073489 · OSTI ID:1978991

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Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Wide-bandgap III-nitride heterostructures are required for a variety of device applications. However, this alloy system has a large lattice constant and thermal expansion coefficient mismatch that limits the alloy composition and layer thickness for many heteroepitaxial device structures. Consequently, various methods have been devised to allow the heteroepitaxial growth of AlInGaN heterostructures to accommodate this inherent strain. In this work, we describe a non-planar-growth approach that enables the deposition of crack-free high-Al-mole-fraction Al_xGa_1-xN on patterned GaN/sapphire templates and bulk GaN substrates with large-area mesas. We have studied the effects of the patterned mesa width, the mesa etch depth, and the gap between the mesas on the heteroepitaxy of Al_xGa_1-xN superlattices with an average Al molar fraction 0.11 < x¯ < 0.21 and non-planar overgrowth growth thicknesses up to 3.5 μm. Similar to the planar growth approach, increasing the thickness and Al mole fraction of the Al_xGa_1-xN superlattices leads to surface cracking when exceeding the critical layer thickness. However, limiting the mesa dimension in one direction enables strain mitigation and drastically increases the critical layer thickness. Additionally, larger etch depths of the mesas increase the Al alloy composition and thickness for crack-free AlGaN heteroepitaxy whereas the gap in between the mesas seems to have no crucial influence. We demonstrate that the Al alloy composition and layer thicknesses of such heterostructures can be increased far beyond the critical layer thickness for planar growth and demonstrate the growth of a crack-free full AlxGa_1-xN/GaN quantum-well laser heterostructure designed for operation at ~370 nm.

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Research Organization:: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Steve W. Chaddick Fellowship; Ultra Materials for a Resilient, Smart Electricity Grid (ULTRA); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021230

OSTI ID:: 1978991

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 131; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Realizing crack-free high-aluminum-mole-fraction AlGaN on patterned GaN beyond the critical layer thickness

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