Morphological Evolution of a-GaN on r-Sapphire by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

The morphological evolution of a-GaN deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on r-sapphire is studied. The influences of V/III ratio and growth temperature on surface morphology are investigated. V−pits and stripes are observed on the surface of a-GaN grown at 1050°C and 1100°C, respectively. The overall orientation and geometry of V−pits are uniform and independent on the V/III molar ratio in the samples grown at 1050°C, while in the samples grown at 1100°C, the areas of stripes decrease with the adding of V/III ratio. We deduce the origin of V−pits and stripes by annealing the buffer layers at different temperatures. Because of the existence of inclined (1011) facets, V−pits are formed at 1050°C. The (1011) plane is an N terminated surface, which is metastable at higher temperature, so stripes instead of V−pits are observed at 1100°C. Raman spectra suggest that the growth temperature of the first layer in the two-step process greatly affects the strain of the films. Hence, to improve the growth temperature of the first layer in the two-step method may be an effective way to obtain high quality a-GaN film on r-sapphire.