Growth of high-quality AlN, GaN and AlGaN with atomically smooth surfaces on sapphire substrates

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of AlN, GaN and AlGaN on sapphire substrates was investigated, with the aim of realizing high-quality heterostructures with atomically smooth interfaces. AlN with surfaces constructed of single-atomic-layer steps was grown by the two-step growth technique, in which the thin first layer was grown at a low temperature (1250 degrees C) and then the second layer was grown at a high temperature (1350 degrees C). GaN with surfaces consisting of simple atomic-layer steps were successively grown on the AIN layer by optimizing the growth conditions. Marked degradation of surface flatness was not observed for Al0.2Ga0.8N grown on GaN.