Growth of Nonpolar (1100) Films and Heterostructures by Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

ABSTRACTWe discuss the growth of M-plane GaN films and (In, Ga)N/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structures on LiAlO2(100) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The adsorption and desorption kinetics of Ga on M-plane GaN is studied by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, allowing us to identify the optimum growth conditions with regard to surface morphology. Furthermore, we investigate the compositional profile of M-plane (In, Ga)N/GaN MQWs grown under conditions resulting in comparatively abrupt interfaces. The results demonstrate that significant In surface segregation occurs for the case of M-plane (In, Ga)N. The dependence of the transition energies of the M-plane MQWs on the actual well thickness reveals, however, that the structures are indeed free of electrostatic fields along the growth direction.