Influence of GaN column diameter on structural properties for InGaN nanocolumns grown on top of GaN nanocolumns

Abstract

The influence of GaN column diameter DGaN on structural properties was systematically investigated for InGaN nanocolumns (NCs) grown on top of GaN NCs. We demonstrated a large critical layer thickness of above 400 nm for In0.3Ga0.7N/GaN NCs. The structural properties were changed at the boundary of DGaN=D0 (∼120 nm). Homogeneous InGaN NCs grew axially on the GaN NCs with DGaN≤D0, while InGaN-InGaN core-shell structures were spontaneously formed on the GaN NCs with DGaN>D0. These results can be explained by a growth system that minimizes the total strain energy of the NCs.