Compositionally graded Ga1-xInxP buffers grown by static and dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy at rates up to 1 μm/min

Schulte, Kevin L.; Diercks, David R.; Guthrey, Harvey L.; Mangum, John S.; Packard, Corinne E.; Metaferia, Wondwosen; Simon, John; Ptak, Aaron J.

doi:10.1063/5.0040605

Title: Compositionally graded Ga_1-xIn_xP buffers grown by static and dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy at rates up to 1 μm/min

Journal Article · Thu Feb 04 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0040605· OSTI ID:1782808

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National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

Here, we demonstrate Ga_1-xIn_xP compositionally graded buffers (CGBs) grown on GaAs with lattice constants between GaAs and InP by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). Growth rates were up to ~1 μm/min and threading dislocation density (TDD) was as low as 1.0 x 10⁶ cm^-2. We studied the effect of substrate offcut direction, growth rate, and strain grading rate on CGB defect structure. We compared the effect of a “dynamic grading” style, which creates compositional interfaces via mechanical transfer of a substrate between two growth chambers, vs. “static grading” where the CGB grows in a single chamber. Dynamic grading yielded smoother grades with higher relaxation, but TDD was not significantly different between the two styles. Substrate offcut direction was the most important factor for obtaining CGBs with low defect density. (001) substrates offcut towards (111)B yielded smoother CGBs with lower TDD compared to CGBs grown on substrates offcut towards (111)A. Transmission electron microscopy of static and dynamic CGBs grown on A and B-offcuts only found evidence of phase separation in a static A-offcut CGB, indicating that the B offcut limits phase separation, which in turn keeps TDD low. Reduced growth rate led to the appearance CuPt-type atomic ordering, which affected the distribution of dislocations on the active glide planes but did not alter TDD. Higher growth rates led to smoother CGBs and did not appreciably increase TDD as otherwise predicted by steady-state models of plastic relaxation. These results show HVPE’s promise for lattice-mismatched applications and low-c ost InP virtual substrates on GaAs

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; 15/CJ000/07/05

OSTI ID:: 1782808

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1970583

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5900-78601; MainId:32518; UUID:7d005374-fc6f-419b-9597-d481e4d60df3; MainAdminID:22449; TRN: US2210324

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 118, Issue 5; ISSN 0003-6951

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

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
GaAs
InP
HVPE
hydride vapor phase epitaxy
compositionally graded buffers
threading dislocation density
dynamic grading
static grading
PV
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Title: Compositionally graded Ga1-xInxP buffers grown by static and dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy at rates up to 1 μm/min

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References (28)

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Title: Compositionally graded Ga_1-xIn_xP buffers grown by static and dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy at rates up to 1 μm/min