Low density of threading dislocations in AlN grown on sapphire

We report on high resolution x-ray diffraction studies of the crystalline perfection and the relaxation of elastic strain in AlN grown by MBE on sapphire(0001). Thin (200-300 nm thick) AlN layers were grown with a very low density of threading screw dislocations. A density of 1.75-8.5x10(5) cm(-2), the lowest value ever reported for III-Nitride epitaxial layers, was observed in a surface layer formed over a defective nucleation layer. Residual elastic strain was found in investigated AlN layers. Stress was found to be close to that expected from thermal expansion mismatch between the AlN and sapphire(0001). A model for the structural transformation of crystalline defects accounts for these observations. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.