Defects and stresses in MBE-grown GaN and Al0.3Ga0.7N layers doped by silicon using silane

The electric and structural characteristics of silicon-doped GaN and Al0.3Ga0.7N layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using silane have been analyzed by the Hall effect, Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution X-ray diffractometry. It is established that the electron concentration linearly increases up to n = 4 × 1020 cm−3 with an increase in the silane flow rate for GaN:Si, whereas the corresponding dependence for Al0.3Ga0.7N:Si is sublinear and the maximum electron concentration is found to be n = 4 × 1019 cm−3. X-ray measurements of sample macrobending indicate a decrease in biaxial compressive stress with an increase in the electron concentration in both GaN:Si and Al0.3Ga0.7N:Si layers. The parameters of the dislocation structure, estimated from the measured broadenings of X-ray reflections, are analyzed.