A GaN bulk crystal with improved structural quality grown by the ammonothermal method

The realization of high-performance optoelectronic devices, based on GaN and other nitride semiconductors, requires the existence of a high-quality substrate. Non-polar or semipolar substrates have recently been proven to provide superior optical devices to those on conventional c-plane substrates. Bulk GaN growth enables GaN substrates sliced along various favourable crystal orientations. Ammonothermal growth is an attractive method for bulk GaN growth owing to its potential to grow GaN ingots at low cost. Here we report on improvement in the structural quality of GaN grown by the ammonothermal method. The threading dislocation densities estimated by plan-view transmission electron microscopy observations were less than 1×106 cm−2 for the Ga face and 1×107 cm−2 for the N face. No dislocation generation at the interface was observed on the Ga face, although a few defects were generated at the interface on the N face. The improvement in the structural quality, together with the previous report on growth rate and scalability, demonstrates the commercial feasibility of the ammonothermal GaN growth.