Effect of N2/H2 plasma on GaN substrate cleaning for homoepitaxial GaN growth by radical-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (REMOCVD)

Abstract

We developed a new method of GaN growth using Radical-Enhanced Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (REMOCVD) technology by which Gallium Nitride (GaN) grows at low temperatures without ammonia gas. In this method, we investigated the effect of N2/H2 plasma on the GaN substrate surface cleaning prior to the growth of homoepitaxial GaN. In-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to investigate the surface morphology of the cleaned GaN substrates. The interface between GaN substrate and homoepitaxially grown GaN by REMOCVD was evaluated by transmission electron microscope and the crystal quality was evaluated by X-ray diffraction. The in-situ N2/H2 plasma cleaning at 600 °C shows a smooth surface morphology with streak diffraction lines observed by RHEED. Since the homoepitaxial growth of GaN was performed at 800 °C, the cleaned GaN substrate temperature was ramped up from 600 °C to 800 °C with and without plasma exposure to compare the effect of plasma. Homoepitaxially grown GaN on GaN substrates whose temperature was ramped up with plasma exposure showed good crystal quality with no threading dislocations at the interface. It was found that N2/H2 plasma plays a significant role in the GaN surface cleaning for good quality crystal growth.