Meltback etching, a deteriorating chemical reaction occurring between gallium and silicon under typical metal organic chemical vapor deposition growth conditions, is a common problem that often limits the development of GaN on silicon substrates, in particular, patterned substrates, and therefore must be circumvented. To further understand this reaction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed in cross-section, and a proposed 2-dimensional model on how meltback etching evolves throughout the growth process is discussed, which indicated an inter-diffusion reaction occurring primarily between gallium and silicon where gallium from GaN diffuses into the silicon substrate while silicon from the substrate diffuses out and incorporates into the GaN crystal. Moreover, we demonstrate an anisotropic behavior of the gallium penetrating the silicon substrate, which has shown to be delimited by the Si planes. Finally, an approach to prevent meltback etching by changing the fractions of nitrogen and hydrogen in the carrier gas is presented and discussed.
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14 September 2017
Research Article|
September 12 2017
Evolution and prevention of meltback etching: Case study of semipolar GaN growth on patterned silicon substrates
Michel Khoury;
Michel Khoury
a)
1
Université Côte d'Azur, CRHEA-CNRS
, Rue Bernard Grégory, 06560 Valbonne, France
2
Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA-LETI
, 17 Rue Des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
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Olivier Tottereau;
Olivier Tottereau
1
Université Côte d'Azur, CRHEA-CNRS
, Rue Bernard Grégory, 06560 Valbonne, France
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Guy Feuillet;
Guy Feuillet
2
Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA-LETI
, 17 Rue Des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
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Philippe Vennéguès;
Philippe Vennéguès
1
Université Côte d'Azur, CRHEA-CNRS
, Rue Bernard Grégory, 06560 Valbonne, France
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Jesus Zúñiga-Pérez
Jesus Zúñiga-Pérez
1
Université Côte d'Azur, CRHEA-CNRS
, Rue Bernard Grégory, 06560 Valbonne, France
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a)
michel.khoury@engineering.ucsb.edu. Now in The Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
J. Appl. Phys. 122, 105108 (2017)
Article history
Received:
April 28 2017
Accepted:
August 26 2017
Citation
Michel Khoury, Olivier Tottereau, Guy Feuillet, Philippe Vennéguès, Jesus Zúñiga-Pérez; Evolution and prevention of meltback etching: Case study of semipolar GaN growth on patterned silicon substrates. J. Appl. Phys. 14 September 2017; 122 (10): 105108. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5001914
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