Stress State of GaN Epilayer Grown on Sapphire and 6H-SiC Substrates

Abstract The stress states and influence of two opposite stress types under similar stress intensities on the structural and optical properties of GaN films grown on sapphire and 6H-SiC substrates via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition were investigated. The E2 (high) phonon shifts of Raman spectra show that tensile stresses exist in the GaN epilayer grown on 6H-SiC, whereas compressive stresses appear in the film grown on sapphire, indicating that the thermal mismatch between the epilayers and the substrates plays a major role in determining the residual stresses in GaN films. Narrower full widths at half-maximum of E2 (high) phonon and double crystal X-ray diffraction peaks and the higher E2 (high) phonon intensity are visible for the GaN film grown on sapphire, illustrating that under almost equivalent stress intensities, tensile stresses have a much more negative influence on the crystalline quality of GaN epilayers. Finally, a numerical relationship between the luminescent band gap and the biaxial stresses of the GaN films is obtained at 10 K.