Step-flow growth mode instability of N-polar GaN under N-excess Available to Purchase

GaN layers were grown on N-polar GaN substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy under different III/V ratios. Ga-rich conditions assure step-flow growth with atomically flat surface covered by doubly-bunched steps, as for Ga-polar GaN. Growth under N-excess however leads to an unstable step-flow morphology. Particularly, for substrates slightly miscut towards $⟨101¯0⟩$⁠, interlacing fingers are covered by atomic steps pinned on both sides by small hexagonal pits. In contrast, a three-dimensional island morphology is observed on the Ga-polar equivalent sample. We attribute this result to lower diffusion barriers on N-polar compared to Ga-polar GaN under N-rich conditions.