Pressure Controlled GaN MBE Growth Using a Hollow Anode Nitrogen Ion Source

GaN films were grown on sapphire substrates at temperatures below 1000 K utilizing a Hollow Anode nitrogen ion source. A Ga flux limited growth rate of ~0.5 μm/h is demonstrated. Active utilization of strain and the assistance of a nitrogen partial pressure during buffer layer growth are found to be crucial issues that can improve the film quality. The best films exhibit a full width at half maximum of the x-ray rocking curves of 80 arcsec and 1.8₅ meV for the excitonic photoluminescence measured at 4 K. A Volmer-Weber three dimensional growth mode and the spontaneous formation of cubic GaN inclusions in the hexagonal matrix are observed in the investigated growth temperature range. It is argued that this growth mode contributes to a limitation of the carrier mobility in these films that did not exceed 120 cm²/Vs through a minimum canier concentration of ~10¹⁵ cm^-3 was achieved.