Homoepitaxial Growth of Gallium Nitride and Aluminum Nitride and Its Effects on Device Properties

Theoretical modeling using density functional theory calculations was carried out to investigate the binding and diffusion of adatoms on the GaN surface. It was found that the diffusion barrier varies with strain in the substrate/template. This change in diffusion barrier can help explain the differences in optimal growth conditions, such as temperature, for layers grown on different substrates.