Temperature dynamic compensation vertical Bridgman method growth of high-quality GaSb single crystals

Gallium antimonide (GaSb) is considered an ideal substrate for heterostructure growth. A significant property that inhibits the widespread application of infrared plane-array detector growth on GaSb is the crystal quality of the starting substrate. Herein, we report the growth of single-crystal GaSb by a temperature dynamic compensation vertical Bridgman (TDC-VB) method. This approach offers a low temperature gradient and a stable solid–liquid interface position in the furnace during the growth process. Two inch diameter twin-free GaSb single crystals with (1 0 0) orientation have been reproducibly obtained using the TDC-VB method. The crystalline character of the obtained GaSb has been examined by optical microscopy (OM), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), X-ray tomography (XRT), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The etch pit dislocation density (EPD) of the GaSb polished wafers (1 0 0) was 6–72 cm−2, and the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the Bragg diffraction peak was 15.4″. A uniform XRT image was obtained, and ca. 50 % of the GaSb wafers, which were produced by one crystal, showed transmittance > 20 % at 10 µm, indicating the formation of high-quality GaSb crystals. This work provides useful guidelines for the formation of high-quality GaSb crystals with significant promise for substrate applications.