Effect of stoichiometry on defect distribution in cubic GaN grown on GaAs by plasma-assisted MBE

摘要

High resolution electron microscopy was used to study the structure of beta-GaN epilayers grown on (001) GaAs substrates by plasma-assisted molecular-beam-epitaxy. The rf plasma source was used to promote chemically active nitrogen. The layer quality was shown to depend on growth conditions (Ga flux and N2 flow for fixed rf power). The best quality of GaN layers was achieved by 'stoichiometric' growth; Ga-rich layers contain a certain amount of the wurtzite phase. GaN layers contain a high density of stacking faults which drastically decreases toward the GaN surface. Stacking faults are anisotropically distributed in the GaN layer; the majority intersect the interface along lines parallel to the 'major flat' of the GaAs substrate. This correlates well with the observed anisotropy in the intensity distribution of x-ray reflexions. Formation of stacking faults are often associated with atomic steps at the GaN-GaAs interfaces.