Improvement of defect reduction in semi-polar GaN grown on shallow-trenched Si(001) substrate

Abstract

The improved design of sub-micron trenches on Si(001) substrate was demonstrated for defect suppression in semi-polar selectively-grown GaN layers. Cathodoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurements revealed a dramatically decreased density of threading dislocations and stacking faults near the surface of the overgrown GaN layer when the trench width ranged from 500 to 1500 nm. It was observed that defects were effectively trapped inside the trench when the ratio of trench depth to the SiO₂ thickness is less than 0.66. In addition, a significant reduction of intrinsic polarization electric field was achieved for the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well on the GaN selectively grown from the Si trenches.