Effects of SiC buffer layer growth temperature on the residual strain of GaN/SiC/Si thin films

Effects of SiC buffer layers were studied on the residual strain of GaN films grown on 3C-SiC/Si (111) substrates. It was clearly observed by Raman scattering measurement that the residual strain of the GaN/Si is reduced by inserting the SiC intermediate layer. Furthermore, residual strain within the GaN/SiC/Si films decreased when the growth temperature of the SiC buffer layer decreased. It was proposed that the irreversible creep phenomenon occurs during the high temperature growth of SiC, affecting nature of the residual strain within the SIC and the GaN layers. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.