Theoretical and experimental studies of surface processes in the course of molecular-beam epitaxy of gallium nitride

The method of atomic-force microscopy has been used to experimentally study the effect of growth conditions on the structure of the surface of epitaxial GaN layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Quantitative values of the density, height, and width of growth centers in relation to the conditions of epitaxy are obtained; the average length of the diffusion path of particles limiting the GaN growth rate have been estimated; and the activation energies and the surface-diffusion coefficients for these particles have been calculated. The equilibrium composition of adsorbed layers at the GaN (0001) surface in a wide range of deposition temperatures and pressures of gallium and nitrogen has been calculated with account taken of the following components: gallium atoms, nitrogen atoms, and NH molecules. On the basis of the comparison of experimental data on the structure of the GaN surface with results of calculations concerning the composition of adsorbed layers on the growth surface, it was assumed that the growth of GaN layers is limited by supply of gallium.