• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.208-213
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• 2018

Epitaxial ($11{\bar{2}}0$) a-plane GaN films were grown on a ($1{\bar{1}}02$) R-plane sapphire substrate with photoresist (PR) masks using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The PR mask with striped patterns was prepared using an ex-situ lithography process, whereas carbonization and heat treatment of the PR mask were carried out using an in-situ MOCVD. The heat treatment of the PR mask was continuously conducted in ambient $H_2/NH_3$ mixture gas at $1140^{\circ}C$ after carbonization by the pyrolysis in ambient $H_2$ at $1100^{\circ}C$. As the time of the heat treatment progressed, the striped patterns of the carbonized PR mask shrank. The heat treatment of the carbonized PR mask facilitated epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of a-plane GaN films without carbon contamination on the R-plane sapphire substrate. Thhe surface morphology of a-plane GaN films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The structural characteristics of a-plane GaN films on an R-plane sapphire substrate were evaluated by ${\omega}-2{\theta}$ high-resolution X-ray diffraction. The a-plane GaN films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to determine carbon contamination from carbonized PR masks in the GaN film bulk. After $Ar^+$ ion etching, XPS spectra indicated that carbon contamination exists only in the surface region. Finally, the heat treatment of carbonized PR masks was used to grow high-quality a-plane GaN films without carbon contamination. This approach showed the promising potential of the ELO process by using a PR mask.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.14-19
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• 2000

Free-standing GaN single crystal substrates have been obtained by growing thick GaN epitaxial layers on (0001) sapphire substrates using hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) method. After growing the GaN thick film of 200 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, a free-standing GaN with a size of 10 mm $\times$10 mm were obtained by mechanical polishing process to remove sapphire substrate. Crack-free GaN substrates have been obtained by GaCl pre-treatment prior to the growth of GaN epitaxial layers. Properties of free-standing GaN substrates have been compared with those of lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) GaN films by double-crystal x-ray diffraction (DC-XRD), cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.148-149
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• 2012

This paper reports doping of carbon atoms in GaN layer, which based on dimethylhydrazine (DMHy) and growth temperature. It is well known that dislocations can act as non-radiative recombination center in light emitting diode (LED). Recently, many researchers have tried to reduce the dislocation density by using various techniques such as lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) [1] and patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) [2], and etc. However, LEO and PSS techniques require additional complicated steps to make masks or patterns on the substrate. Some reports also showed insertion of carbon doped layer may have good effect on crystal quality of GaN layer [3]. Here we report the growth of GaN epitaxial layer by inserting carbon doped GaN layer into GaN epitaxial layer. GaN:C layer growth was performed in metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor, and DMHy was used as a carbon doping source. We elucidated the role of DMHy in various GaN:C growth temperature. When growth temperature of GaN decreases, the concentration of carbon increases. Hence, we also checked the carbon concentration with DMHy depending on growth temperature. Carbon concentration of conventional GaN is $1.15{\times}1016$. Carbon concentration can be achieved up to $4.68{\times}1,018$. GaN epilayer quality measured by XRD rocking curve get better with GaN:C layer insertion. FWHM of (002) was decreased from 245 arcsec to 234 arcsec and FWHM of (102) decreased from 338 arcsec to 302 arcsec. By comparing the quality of GaN:C layer inserted GaN with conventional GaN, we confirmed that GaN:C interlayer can block dislocations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.121-121
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• 1999

Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor is intensively under investigation for commercialization of short wavelength light emitting devices and laser diodes. One of serious obstacles to overcome is to reduce the defect density in GaN film grown by various techniques such as MOCVD, HVPE, etc. Many research groups including SAIT are trying to improve the defect density to 106-107/cm2 from the level of 108-1010/cm2. We have investigated epitaxial growth behaviour of GaN thin and thick films under hidride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) condition. In this report, we present the microstructural and crystallographical characteristics of the GaN films grown on sapphire (0001) substrate which were studied by both conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Also we present some microscopic analysis results obtained from GaN films grown by ELO(dpitzsial lateral overgrowth)-HVPE and from GaN quantum well structures grown by MOCVD. Another serious problem in growing GaN thick film by HVPE is internal micro-cracks. We also comment the origin of the micro-crack.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.424-427
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• 2003

We have investigated the microstructural analysis of epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO), pendeoepitaxy (PE), and superlattice structures used as technology for the reduction of structural defects like dislocation in nitride semiconductors using transmission electron microscopy. We confirmed that the regrowth process such as ELO and PE is very effective technique on the reduction of threading dislocation (less than $10^6/cm^2$) in the specific area. However, to decrease the defect density in the whole nitride films and the suppress the generation of defect by regrowth, we should find the optimized conditions. Besides, the process using double PE and AlGaN/GaN superlattice structure showed no effect on the defect reduction up to now.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.20.2-20.2
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• 2011

III-nitrides have attracted much attention for optoelectronic device applications whose emission wavelengths ranging from green to ultraviolet due to their wide band gap. However, due to the strong polarization properties of conventional c-plane III-nitrides, the built-in polarization-induced electric field limits the performance of optical devices. Therefore, there has been a renewed interest in the growth of nonpolar III-nitride semiconductors for polarization free heterostructure optoelectronic and electronic devices. However, the crystal and the optical quality of nonpolar/semipolar GaN have been poorer than those of conventional c-plane GaN, resulting in the relative poor optical and electrical properties of light emitting diodes (LEDs). In this presentation, I will discuss the growth and characterization of high quality nonpolar a-plane and semipolar (11-22) GaN and InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on r- and m-plane sapphire substrates, respectively, by using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) without a low temperature GaN buffer layer. Especially, the epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) technique will be also discussed to reduce the dislocation density and enhance the performance of nonpolar and semipolar GaN-based LEDs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.705-708
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• 2014

We demonstrate the blue InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with an embedded air-gap photonic crystal (PC) which was fabricated by the lateral epitaxial overgrowth of GaN layer on the tungsten (W) nano-masks. The periodic air-gap PC was formed by the chemical reaction of hydrogen with GaN on the W nano-mask. The optical output power of LEDs with an air-gap PC was increased by 26% compared to LEDs without an air-gap PC. The enhanced optical output power was attributed to the improvement in internal quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency by the air-gap PC embedded in GaN layer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.645-651
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• 2014

GaN is most commonly used to make LED elements. But, due to differences of the thermal expansion coefficient and lattice mismatch with sapphire, dislocations have occurred at about $109{\sim}1010/cm^2$. Generally, a low temperature GaN buffer layer is used between the GaN layer and the sapphire substrate in order to reduce the dislocation density and improve the characteristics of the thin film, and thus to increase the efficiency of the LED. Further, patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) are applied to improve the light extraction efficiency. In this experiment, using an AlN buffer layer on PSS in place of the GaN buffer layer that is used mainly to improve the properties of the GaN film, light extraction efficiency and overall properties of the thin film are improved at the same time. The AlN buffer layer was deposited by using a sputter and the AlN buffer layer thickness was determined to be 25 nm through XRD analysis after growing the GaN film at $1070^{\circ}C$ on the AlN buffer CPSS (C-plane Patterned Sapphire Substrate, AlN buffer 25 nm, 100 nm, 200 nm, 300 nm). The GaN film layer formed by applying a 2 step epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) process, and by changing temperatures ($1020{\sim}1070^{\circ}C$) and pressures (85~300 Torr). To confirm the surface morphology, we used SEM, AFM, and optical microscopy. To analyze the properties (dislocation density and crystallinity) of a thin film, we used HR-XRD and Cathodoluminescence.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.20-20
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• 2003

We developed 30 ㎽-AlInGaN based violet laser diodes. The fabrication procedures of the laser diodes are described as follows. Firstly, GaN layers having very low defect density were grown on sapphire substrates by lateral epitaxial overgrowth method. The typical dislocation density was about 1-3$\times$10$^{6}$ /$\textrm{cm}^2$ at the wing region. Secondly, AlInGaN laser structures were grown on LEO-GaN/sapphire substrates by MOCVD. UV activation method, instead of conventional annealing, was conducted to achieve good p-type conduction. Thirdly, ridge stripe laser structures were fabricated. The cavity mirrors were formed by cleaving method. Three pairs of SiO$_2$ and TiO$_2$ layers were deposited on the rear facet for mirror coating. Lastly, laser diode chips were mounted on AlN submount wafers by epi-down bonding method. The lifetime of the laser diodes was over 10,000 hrs at room temperature under automatic power controlled condition. We expect the performance of the LDs to be improved by the optimization of the growth and fabrication process. The detailed characteristics and important issues of the laser diodes will be discussed at the conference.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.279.2-279.2
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• 2016

InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) have been attracted much attention as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the visible and UV regions. Particularly, quantum efficiency of green LEDs is decreased dramatically as approaching to the green wavelength (~500 nm). This low efficiency has been explained by quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) induced by piezoelectric field caused from a large lattice mismatch between InGaN and GaN. To improve the quantum efficiency of green LED, several ways including epitaxial lateral overgrowth that reduces differences of lattice constant between GaN and sapphire substrates, and non-polar method that uses non- or semi-polar substrates to reduce QCSE were proposed. In this study, graded short-period InGaN/GaN superlattice (GSL) was grown below the 5-period InGaN/GaN MQWs. InGaN/GaN MQWs were grown on the patterned sapphire substrates by vertical-metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition system. Five-period InGaN/GaN MQWs without GSL structure (C-LED) were also grown to compare with an InGaN/GaN GSL sample. The luminescence properties of green InGaN/GaN LEDs have been investigated by using photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL (TRPL) measurements. The PL intensities of the GSL sample measured at 10 and 300 K increase about 1.2 and 2 times, respectively, compared to those of the C-LED sample. Furthermore, the PL decay of the GSL sample measured at 10 and 300 K becomes faster and slower than that of the C-LED sample, respectively. By inserting the GSL structures, the difference of lattice constant between GaN and sapphire substrates is reduced, resulting that the overlap between electron and hole wave functions is increased due to the reduced piezoelectric field and the reduction in dislocation density. As a results, the GSL sample exhibits the increased PL intensity and faster PL decay compared with those for the C-LED sample. These PL and TRPL results indicate that the green emission of InGaN/GaN LEDs can be improved by inserting the GSL structures.