GaN quantum dot superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy at high temperature

In this paper, we report the growth of GaN quantum dot superlattices (QDSLs) with AlN barriers on (0001) sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy at relatively high temperature (770°C) using the modified Stranski-Krastanov growth mode. Observations with atomic force microscopy show that the height distribution of the dots depends strongly on the number of GaN monolayers (MLs) grown on the AlN barriers. Specifically, the height distribution consists of two Gaussian distributions (bimodal) for coverages of 3 or 4 ML, and becomes a single Gaussian distribution for 5 and 6 ML of coverage. Furthermore, the density of quantum dots increases with the degree of coverage and saturates at 2×1011dots∕cm2. An increase in the number of stacks in the superlattice structure with 4 ML coverage also leads to a more pronounced bimodal height distribution. Electron microscopy observations indicate that the GaN QDs are truncated pyramids faceted along the {11¯03} planes and suggest that larger dots are associated with t...