GaN‐Based Nanorods/Graphene Heterostructures for Optoelectronic Applications (original) (raw)

2019, physica status solidi (b)

The insulating character of sapphire, meltback etching of Si, bulk and surface defects prevented the efficient integration of GaN nanostructures in optoelectronic devices. Here, it is demonstrated that graphene can simultaneously serve as an electrical bottom contact, a chemically inert buffer layer, and a superior lattice and thermal matched growth substrate. Vertically aligned, high crystal quality GaN nanorods (NRs) without bulk defects such as threading dislocations and with only a mild strain at the NRs’ base are grown by metal‐organic vapor‐phase epitaxy on defect‐free graphene using nanometer‐sized AlxGa1−xN nucleation islands. Here no influence of the supporting substrate on the GaN epitaxy is observed. However, at defects in graphene the effects of dangling bonds and the underlying substrate, presumably through nanoholes in graphene, on the properties of GaN NRs are visible. It is also shown that surface defects in InxGa1−xN/GaN NRs from planar films produced by etching of ...

Molecular Beam Epitaxy of GaN Nanowires on Epitaxial Graphene

Nano letters, 2017

We demonstrate an all-epitaxial and scalable growth approach to fabricate single-crystalline GaN nanowires on graphene by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. As substrate, we explore several types of epitaxial graphene layer structures synthesized on SiC. The different structures differ mainly in their total number of graphene layers. Because graphene is found to be etched under active N exposure, the direct growth of GaN nanowires on graphene is only achieved on multilayer graphene structures. The analysis of the nanowire ensembles prepared on multilayer graphene by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy reveals the presence of graphene underneath as well as in between nanowires, as desired for the use of this material as contact layer in nanowire-based devices. The nanowires nucleate preferentially at step edges, are vertical, well aligned, epitaxial, and of comparable structural quality as similar structures fabricated on conventional substrates.

One-step graphene coating of heteroepitaxial GaN films

Nanotechnology, 2012

Today, state-of-the-art III-Ns technology has been focused on the growth of c-plane nitrides by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using a conventional two-step growth process. Here we show that the use of graphene as a coating layer allows the one-step growth of heteroepitaxial GaN films on sapphire in a MOCVD reactor, simplifying the GaN growth process. It is found that the graphene coating improves the wetting between GaN and sapphire, and, with as little as ∼0.6 nm of graphene coating, the overgrown GaN layer on sapphire becomes continuous and flat. With increasing thickness of the graphene coating, the structural and optical properties of one-step grown GaN films gradually transition towards those of GaN films grown by a conventional two-step growth method. The InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structure grown on a GaN/graphene/sapphire heterosystem shows a high internal quantum efficiency, allowing the use of one-step grown GaN films as 'pseudo-substrates' in optoelectronic devices. The introduction of graphene as a coating layer provides an atomic playground for metal adatoms and simplifies the III-Ns growth process, making it potentially very useful as a means to grow other heteroepitaxial films on arbitrary substrates with lattice and thermal mismatch.

Gallium Nitride Microrods Grown on Graphene/SiO2 Substrate

DEStech Transactions on Economics, Business and Management, 2018

We demonstrate that high-density and large-size GaN microrods on multilayer graphene/SiO 2 without buffer layer grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). The GaN microrods were hexagonal with diameter up to 50 µm and the height above 30 µm. The multilayer graphene with defects, which was the key factor assisting nucleation of high-density GaN microrods, was synthesized directly on thermally oxidized SiO 2 /Si substrate by solid carbon source deposition method at relatively low temperature about 500 o C. The growth mechanism of GaN microrods on graphene/SiO 2 substrate was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), demonstrating that GaN initial polycrystalline nucleation was followed by oriented epitaxial lateral overgrowth.

Ultraviolet photoconductive devices with an n-GaN nanorod-graphene hybrid structure synthesized by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

Scientific reports, 2015

The superior photoconductive behavior of a simple, cost-effective n-GaN nanorod (NR)-graphene hybrid device structure is demonstrated for the first time. The proposed hybrid structure was synthesized on a Si (111) substrate using the high-quality graphene transfer method and the relatively low-temperature metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process with a high V/III ratio to protect the graphene layer from thermal damage during the growth of n-GaN nanorods. Defect-free n-GaN NRs were grown on a highly ordered graphene monolayer on Si without forming any metal-catalyst or droplet seeds. The prominent existence of the undamaged monolayer graphene even after the growth of highly dense n-GaN NRs, as determined using Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), facilitated the excellent transport of the generated charge carriers through the photoconductive channel. The highly matched n-GaN NR-graphene hybrid structure exhibited enhancement...

Few-Layer Graphene as an Efficient Buffer for GaN/AlN Epitaxy on a SiO2/Si Substrate: A Joint Experimental and Theoret-ical Study

Applied Sciences

Single-layer (SLG)/few-layer (FLG) and multilayer graphene (MLG) (>15 layers) samples were obtained using the CVD method on high-textured Cu foil catalysts. In turn, plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy was applied to carry out the GaN graphene-assisted growth. A thin AlN layer was used at the initial stage to promote the nucleation process. The effect of graphene defectiveness and thickness on the quality of the GaN epilayers was studied. The bilayer graphene showed the lowest strain and provided optimal conditions for the growth of GaN/AlN. Theoretical studies based on the density functional theory have shown that the energy of interaction between graphene and AlN is almost the same as between graphite sheets (194 mJ/m2). However, the presence of vacancies and other defects as well as compression-induced ripples and nitrogen doping leads to a significant change in this energy.

Vertical GaN nanocolumns grown on graphene intermediated with a thin AlN buffer layer

Nanotechnology

We report on the self-assembled growth of high-density and vertically-oriented n-doped GaN nanocolumns on graphene by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Graphene was transferred to silica glass, which was used as substrate carrier. Using a migration enhanced epitaxy grown AlN buffer layer for the nucleation is found to enable a high density of vertical GaN nanocolumns with c-axis growth orientation on graphene. Furthermore, micro-Raman spectroscopy indicates that the AlN buffer reduces damage on the graphene caused by impinging active N species generated by the radio-frequency plasma source during the initial growth stage and nucleation of GaN. In addition, the grown GaN nanocolumns on graphene are found to be virtually stress-free. Micro-photoluminescence measurements show near band-edge emission from wurtzite GaN, exhibiting higher GaN bandgap related photoluminescence intensity relative to a reference GaN bulk substrate and the absence of both yellow luminescence and excitonic defect emission. Transmission electron microscopy reveals the interface of GaN nanocolumns on graphene via thin AlN buffer layer. Even though the first few monolayers of AlN on top of graphene are strained due to in-plane lattice mismatch between AlN and graphene, the grown GaN nanocolumns have wurtzite crystal structure without observable defects. The results of this initial work pave the way towards realizing low-cost and high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices based on III-N semiconductors grown on graphene.

The influence of AlN buffer layer on the growth of self-assembled GaN nanocolumns on graphene

Scientific Reports

GaN nanocolumns were synthesized on single-layer graphene via radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, using a thin migration-enhanced epitaxy (MEE) AlN buffer layer as nucleation sites. Due to the weak nucleation on graphene, instead of an AlN thin-film we observe two distinguished AlN formations which affect the subsequent GaN nanocolumn growth: (i) AlN islands and (ii) AlN nanostructures grown along line defects (grain boundaries or wrinkles) of graphene. Structure (i) leads to the formation of vertical GaN nanocolumns regardless of the number of AlN MEE cycles, whereas (ii) can result in random orientation of the nanocolumns depending on the AlN morphology. Additionally, there is a limited amount of direct GaN nucleation on graphene, which induces non-vertical GaN nanocolumn growth. The GaN nanocolumn samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction, room temperature micro-phot...

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