Germanium doping of GaN by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition for polarization screening applications

We demonstrate n-type doping of GaN with Ge by MOCVD at high concentrations that are necessary to fully screen the polarization fields in c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum wells. Hall measurements show linear Ge incorporation with dopant flow rate and carrier concentrations exceeding 1×1020cm−3. GaN:Ge layers exhibit excellent electron mobility, high conductivity, and contact resistivity comparable to the best unannealed contacts to Si-doped GaN. However, the surface morphology begins to degrade with Ge concentrations above 1×1019cm−3, resulting in severe step bunching and a network of plateaus and trenches, even in layers as thin as 10nm. •Ge doping of GaN by MOCVD is demonstrated to densities exceeding 1×1020cm−3.•Very high doping could be used to screen polarization fields in InGaN quantum wells.•GaN:Ge layers exhibit excellent electrical characteristics.•Surface morphology breaks down at higher Ge concentrations.•Severe step bunching leads to a three dimensional network of plateaus and trenches.