In this work, we present an experimental and theoretical study of the process of plastic strain relaxation of (0001)-oriented wurtzite heterostructures. By means of transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, we show that plastic relaxation of tensile strained AlxGa1-xN/GaN heterostructures proceeds predominantly by nucleation of a-type misfit dislocations in the slip-system driven by a three-dimensional surface morphology, either due to island growth or due to cracking of the layer. Based on our experimental results, we derive a quantitative model for the dislocation nucleation process. With the shear stress gradients at the nucleation sites of a-type misfit dislocations obtained by the finite element method, we calculate the critical thickness for plastic relaxation of strained wurtzite films and heterostructures as dependent on the surface morphology. The crucial role of the growth mode of the film on the strain relaxation process and the resulting consequences is discussed in the paper.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
21 July 2018
Research Article|
July 17 2018
A predictive model for plastic relaxation in (0001)-oriented wurtzite thin films and heterostructures
T. Markurt;
T. Markurt
1
Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth
, Max-Born-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
T. Schulz
;
T. Schulz
1
Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth
, Max-Born-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
P. Drechsel;
P. Drechsel
2
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH
, Leibnizstraße 4, 93055 Regensburg, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
P. Stauss;
P. Stauss
2
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH
, Leibnizstraße 4, 93055 Regensburg, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
M. Albrecht
M. Albrecht
1
Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth
, Max-Born-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
J. Appl. Phys. 124, 035303 (2018)
Article history
Received:
February 13 2018
Accepted:
June 16 2018
Citation
T. Markurt, T. Schulz, P. Drechsel, P. Stauss, M. Albrecht; A predictive model for plastic relaxation in (0001)-oriented wurtzite thin films and heterostructures. J. Appl. Phys. 21 July 2018; 124 (3): 035303. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5025813
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
A step-by-step guide to perform x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Grzegorz Greczynski, Lars Hultman
Efficient methods for extracting superconducting resonator loss in the single-photon regime
Cliff Chen, David Perello, et al.
Tutorial: Simulating modern magnetic material systems in mumax3
Jonas J. Joos, Pedram Bassirian, et al.
Related Content
AlGaN channel field effect transistors with graded heterostructure ohmic contacts
Appl. Phys. Lett. (September 2016)
Interface structure and anisotropic strain relaxation of nonpolar wurtzite ( 11 2 ¯ ) and ( 10 1 ¯ ) orientations: ZnO epilayers grown on sapphire
J. Appl. Phys. (October 2008)
Critical thickness for the formation of misfit dislocations originating from prismatic slip in semipolar and nonpolar III-nitride heterostructures
APL Mater. (January 2016)
Band alignment of B0.14Al0.86N/Al0.7Ga0.3N heterojunction
Appl. Phys. Lett. (September 2017)