Effect of Si doping on strain, cracking, and microstructure in GaN thin films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The effect of Si doping on the strain and microstructure in GaN films grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition was investigated. Strain was measured quantitatively by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and wafer curvature techniques. It was found that for a Si concentration of 2x10(19) cm(-3), the threshold for crack formation during film growth was 2.0 mu m. Transmission electron microscopy and micro-Raman observations showed that cracking proceeds without plastic deformation (i.e., dislocation motion), and occurs catastrophically along the low energy {1 (1) under bar 00} cleavage plane of GaN. First-principles calculations were used to show that the substitution of Si for Ga in the lattice causes only negligible changes in the lattice constant. The cracking is attributed to tensile stress in the film present at the growth temperature. The increase in tensile stress caused by Si doping is discussed in terms of a crystallite coalescence model. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)03410-1].