Abstract
The optical and structural properties of m-plane GaN layers grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy on LiAlO2 (100) substrates were investigated. Temperature-dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements were performed to analyze the correlation of the sample properties with the density of I1-type basal-plane stacking faults (BSFs). Electron channeling contrast imaging was used to reveal and calculate the density of BSFs reaching the surface of an m-plane GaN/LiAlO2 layer. It was shown that a local increase of BSF density in the investigated samples results in a rise of the total PL efficiency at low temperatures because of the localization of excitons at BSFs and, therefore, a suppression of their diffusion to nonradiative centers. Parameters of time decay and temperature quenching of the BSF-related PL band were determined. A correlation of both εxx and εzz strain components with the BSFs and crystal mosaicity was observed, and possible reasons of this correlation are discussed.
•PL, XRD, SEM were used for characterization of m-plane GaN layers grown on LiAlO2.•A gradient of basal-plane stacking faults (BSF) density along the wafer was revealed.•A correlation of in-plane strain εxx and εzz with the BSF density was observed.•The role of anisotropic mosaicity in limitation of the BSF length was demonstrated.