Effect of the growth temperature on the statistical parameters of GaN surface morphology

It is shown that it is necessary to find the scaling function for a more comprehensive analysis of the statistical parameters of the surface morphology of solids and, in particular, GaN epitaxial films. This function accounts for both the experimental parameters and the conditions of study. It is demonstrated by the example of an atomic-force microscopic study of gallium-nitride epitaxial films obtained at various temperatures that the scaling function makes it possible to relate in a single equation the following three parameters: the growth temperature, the scan length, and the number of measurement points. The function makes it possible to more precisely estimate the surface roughness in scanning regions larger than 10 × 10 μm and prognosticate its value upon a variation in the growth temperature.