Reflection high-energy electron diffraction analysis of InN grown on Si (111) with molecular beam epitaxy

The nucleation and the surface morphology of thin InN layers grown on Si(111) substrates by using molecular beam epitaxy were investigated with reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and atomic force microscopy. The optical properties of 220 nm thick InN layers were investigated with photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The RHEED intensity, the thickness of the InN wetting layer and the lattice constant of the InN initial growth stage were found to depend on the growth temperature. Growth at high temperatures is expected to follow the Volmer-Weber growth mode for nucleation and coalescence of 3D islands in the early stages of growth. We also confirmed with the PL measurements that the resulting InN layers were single-crystal hexagons. These results provide important information about the process of InN nucleation on Si substrates.