Interfaces between nonpolar and semipolar III-nitride semiconductor orientations: Structure and defects

Observations of easy transition between nonpolar and semipolar orientations during III-Nitride
heteroepitaxy identify the 90o <-12-10> rotation relationship as being very important in defining this coexistence. A rigorous analysis of this relationship using the topological theory of interfaces showed that it leads to a high order of coincident symmetry and makes energetically favorable the appearance of the intergranular boundaries. Principal low-energy boundaries, that could also be technologically exploited, have been identified by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observations and have been studied energetically using empirical potential calculations. It is also shown that these boundaries can change their average orientation by incorporating disconnections. The pertinent strain relaxation mechanisms can cause such boundaries to act as sources of threading dislocations and stacking faults. The energetically favorable (10-10) // (0001) boundary was frequently observed to delimit m-plane crystallites in (-12-12) semipolar growth.