Planar semipolar (101¯1) GaN on (112¯3) sapphire

We report on the growth of planar semipolar (101¯1) GaN on (112¯3) prepatterned sapphire. This is a method that allows the growth of semipolar oriented (101¯1) GaN on large scale. Using x-ray diffraction only the peaks of the desired (101¯1) plane could be observed. Scanning electron, transmission electron, and atomic force microscopy measurements show an atomically flat surface. Further investigations using photoluminescence spectroscopy show spectra that are dominated by the near band edge emission. The high crystal quality is furthermore confirmed by the small full width at half maximum values of x-ray rocking curve measurements of less than 400 arcsec.