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Morphological and Optical Characterization of GaN/AlN Heterostructures Grown on Si(111) Substrates by MBE
Author(s) -
Rinaldi R.,
Antonaci S.,
Anni M.,
Lomascolo M.,
Cingolani R.,
Botchkarev A.,
Morkoc H.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-3951(199911)216:1<701::aid-pssb701>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - photoluminescence , wurtzite crystal structure , materials science , heterojunction , substrate (aquarium) , layer (electronics) , optoelectronics , scanning tunneling microscope , thin film , molecular beam epitaxy , epitaxy , nanotechnology , zinc , metallurgy , oceanography , geology
We report an investigation of wurtzite GaN/AlN heterostructures grown on Si(111) substrates by MBE, based on scanning tunneling microscopy measurements in air and photoluminescence. The scanning tunneling microscopy analysis of the sample surfaces demonstrates that the morphology of the GaN layers depends strongly on the thickness of the thin AlN buffer layer and has a weaker dependence on the substrate temperature during growth. GaN layers grown directly on the Si substrate or on a thin (<10 nm) AlN buffer layer present surface defects that can be associated with the formation of screw dislocations with their axis parallel to the growth direction. The photoluminescence spectra show strong extrinsic emission lines for all the investigated samples.