Evidence for moving of threading dislocations during the VPE growth in GaN thin layers

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation was performed in detail to analyze the morphology of threading dislocations (TDs) in GaN thin layers with various thicknesses. The GaN layers were overgrown on an Al0.28Ga0.72N layer by the metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) method. In a GaN layer about 50 nm in thickness, TDs running up in the AlGaN layer pass into the GaN layer and most of them reach the top surface without bending. In thicker GaN layers, on the other hand, many of TDs form a hairpin-configuration on or above the interface of GaN and AlGaN to be annihilated. This difference in morphology of TDs indicates that the TDs have moved down inside the GaN layer. Since the formation of hairpins is attributed to a stress-relief, there should be an extra half-plane between the paired TDs. Therefore, the movement of TDs should be of “climb motion”. Another example of possible TD movement inside a GaN layer is also described. It is emphasized that the possibility of TD-movements inside the thin film crystal during the growth should be taken into account in analysis of thin-layer growth through the behavior of TDs (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)