Study of Depth-Dependent Tetragonal Distortion of GaN Epilayer with Tri-Layer AlGaN Interlayer Growth on Si(111)

A GaN epilayer with tri-layer AlGaN interlayer grown on Si (111) by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method was discussed by synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction (SRXRD) and Rutherford backscattering (RBS)/C. The crystal quality of the epilayer is very good with a χmin=2.1%. According to the results of the θ-2θ scan of GaN(0002) and GaN(1122), the epilayer elastic strains in perpendicular and parallel directions were calculated respectively to be-0.019% and 0.063%. By the angular scan using RBS/C around a symmetric [0001] axis and an asymmetric [1213] axis in the (1010) plane of the GaN layer, the tetragonal distortion (eT ) were determined to be 0.09%. This result coincides with that from SRXRD perfectly. The strain decreases gradually towards the near-surface layer, which will avoid the film cracks efficiently and improve the crystal quality of the GaN epilayer remarkably.