Surface Pretreatment of Bulk GaN for Homoepitaxial Growth by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Homoepitaxial growth of GaN on bulk GaN prepared by the sublimation method was performed by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Two kinds of bulk substrates were used for homoepitaxial growth: (i) a polished bulk GaN C-face, selectively grown on MOCVD-GaN on a sapphire (0001) substrate which was partly covered by SiO2 (“quasi-bulk” GaN) and (ii) a bulk GaN spontaneously nucleated on the source powder used in the sublimation method (“free-standing” bulk GaN). A smooth surface and strong CL band-edge emission from the homoepitaxial layer were obtained when proper surface pretreatment of the substrate, such as H3PO4 etching, RIE and photoassisted wet chemical etching (PAW), was adapted before loading into the MOCVD reactor. The CL intensity of the band-edge emission was stronger and the CL image more uniform for homoepitaxial GaN compared to that of heteroepitaxial GaN on sapphire. The dislocation density of the homoepitaxial layer was also decreased after proper surface treatment of the substrate.