Abstract
GaN-related compound semiconductors were grown on the corrugated interface substrate using a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition system to increase the optical power of white LEDs. The patterning of substrate for enhancing the extraction efficiency was processed using an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching system and the surface morphology of the etched sapphire wafer and that of the non-etched surface were investigated using an atomic force microscope. The structural and optical properties of GaN grown on the corrugated interface substrate were characterized by a high-resolution x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscope and photoluminescence. The roughness of the etched sapphire wafer was higher than that of the non-etched one. The surface of III-nitride films grown on the hemispherically patterned wafer showed the nano-sized pin-holes that were not grown partially. In this case, the leakage current of the LED chip at the reverse bias was abruptly increased. The reason is that the hemispherically patterned region doesn't have (0001) plane that is favor for GaN growth. The lateral growth of the GaN layer grown on (0001) plane located in between the patterns was enhanced by raising the growth temperature ana lowering the reactor pressure resulting in the smooth surface over the patterned region. The crystal quality of GaN on the patterned substrate was also similar with that of GaN on the conventional substrate and no defect was detected in the interface. The optical power of the LED on the patterned substrate was $14\%$ higher than that on the conventional substrate due to the increased extraction efficiency.
