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Localized epitaxy of gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon (Si) wafers is an efficient way to relax elastically the tensile stress generated in the GaN layer after growth, allowing epitaxy of thick layers for the fabrication of vertical power devices operating at high voltage. In this study, a 4.7 μm‐thick GaN layer is grown by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy on 200 mm‐diameter Si wafers for the fabrication of quasi‐vertical Schottky and p‐n diodes. The uniformity of the doping concentration in the layer is mapped spatially by scanning spreading resistance microscopy, while scanning capacitance microscopy illustrates the differently doped regions in the p‐n diode. The net doping concentration is extracted by capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements and it is found to be about 3 × 1016 cm−3. On a 140 μm‐diameter quasi‐vertical p‐n diode, destructive breakdown occurs at 402 V, with no periphery protection on the device, demonstrating that localized epitaxy of GaN on Si has great potential for vertical high‐power devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localized epitaxy of gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon (Si) is studied, with the aim of achieving material compatible with 1200 V vertical devices, in particular an unintentional doping level <1 × 1016 cm−3, which is essential to have high quality devices. In this study, three mask materials (SiN, SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3) are examined and the unintentional doping concentration in GaN layers grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is investigated by scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM). The results from SSRM are verified by secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and show that an unintentional doping concentration lower than 1016 cm−3 is achieved when Al 2 O 3 is used as the mask material. This value is lower than any previous studies of localized GaN growth, and in addition, this is the first time that SSRM has been used to observe such low doping concentrations in GaN. [Display omitted] • SSRM validated for characterization of doping in the order of 1016 cm−3. • Achievement of doping lower than 1016 cm−3 in a GaN layer on Si wafer. • Al 2 O 3 has the greatest potential as mask material for localized epitaxy of GaN. • Growth of 7 μm-thick crack-free GaN layer on Si wafer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]