The effect of atomic hydrogen on the growth of gallium nitride by molecular beam epitaxy

GaN was grown by molecular beam epitaxy using an rf plasma source. Growth under gallium-rich conditions at 730 °C was required to produce high quality layers as indicated by photoluminescence, Hall effect, atomic force microscopy, and x-ray diffraction measurements. Atomic hydrogen has a significant effect for Ga-rich growth, increasing growth rates by as much as a factor of 2.