Gallium Nitride (GaN) and its alloys with InN and AlN, the III-nitrides, are of interest for a variety of high power-high frequency electronics and optoelectronics applications. However, unlike Si and GaAs technology that have been developed on native substrates, III-nitride devices have been developed on non-native substrates such as Si, sapphire and SiC. This is because bulk cheap native III-nitride substrates are unavailable. Among the known substrates, III-nitride technology development on Si is desirable because of its large substrate size and low cost. However, the large lattice and thermal expansion mismatch between the III-nitrides films and Si substrate leads to a high level of dislocations, 1010 cm-2, and tensile stress which results in cracking. For successful integration of crack free and low dislocation density GaN on Si various kinds of transition layer schemes are used that help to incorporate a compressive growth stress to neutralize the tensile thermal mismatch stresses and also to reduce dislocation densities to levels required by devices. These transition schemes, ranging from 400 nm to 7 m, involve the use of graded AlGaN layers, high/low temperature interlayers and superlattices. The aim of the research described in this thesis was a systematic comparison of the different transition layer schemes currently used with the objective of increasing the efficiency of integrating device quality, crack free, low dislocation density, <109 cm-2, GaN with Si. A metal organic chemical vapor deposition equipped with an in-situ stress monitor was used for growth. Transmission electron microscopy was used for quantitative measurement of dislocation density. The research shows, for the first time, that all transition layer optimization depends critically on the Si surface made available for growth of the first AlN layer. It needs to be optimally cleaned such that it is oxide free and smooth. A quantitative TEM comparison of various currently used transition layer schemes shows that while they have interesting mechanistic differences, they are not very different in their dislocation reduction efficiency. All of them yield a final dislocation density in a probe GaN layer of 1-3×109 cm-2. In contrast, a combination of Si doping and compressive growth stress has a synergistic effect on dislocation reduction. A simple 210 nm transition layer based on this understanding, the lowest reported yet, yields GaN layers that are crack free and have lower <1x109 cm-2 dislocation density, than those obtained by the aforementioned more complicated schemes. High electron mobility transistor characteristics performance on the probe GaN layers obtained on these transition layers supports the structural observations above.

Ce travail de thèse ce focalise sur la croissance et la caractérisation de Nanofils (NFs) et de Microfils (µFs) de GaN. L'élaboration de telles structures est obtenue par épitaxie en phase vapeur d'organométalliques à partir de deux stratégies de croissances: l'une dite auto-organisée, réalisée sur substrat saphir, l'autre appelée sélective ou localisée, obtenue sur template GaN de polarité Ga. Quelque soit la stratégie employée, nous montrons que la croissance de structures verticales suivant l'axe c requièrent l'utilisation d'un flux de NH3 et d'un rapport V/III faible, lorsque nous les comparons avec les valeurs utilisées pour la réalisation de couches planaires de GaN. Les paramètres et les étapes de croissances ayant une influence sur le rapport d'aspect (hauteur/diamètre) sont étudiées et mises en évidence pour chacune des stratégies employées. Par ailleurs, les mécanismes de croissance ainsi que les propriétés structurales et optiques de ces objets sont caractérisés par MEB, MET, CL et µPL. En particulier, les expériences réalisées sur les µFs auto-organisés permettent d'observer et d'expliquer l'origine de la double polarité, de mettre en lueur la différence d'incorporation de dopants/d'impuretés entre les domaines Ga et N, d'identifier la présence de deux sections de propriétés électriques et optiques différentes, et de révéler la présence de deux types de résonances optiques: des Modes de galerie et des Modes de Fabry-Perot. D'autres part, nous étudions la courbure des dislocations vers les surfaces libres des NFs localisés et µFs auto-organisés, et pointons la présence de fautes d'empilement basales dans des régions de faibles dimensions. / This work focus on growth and characterization of GaN Nanowires (NWs) and Microwires (µWs). Such structures are obtained by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy with two growth strategies: one called self-organized which is realized on sapphire, and the other named selective area growth which is obtained on a GaN Ga-polar template. Whatever the growth strategies employed, vertical growth of structures along the c axis requires the use of a low NH3 flux and V/III ratio, when they are compared with values used for planar growth of GaN. The influence of growth parameters and growth steps on aspect ratio (height/diameter) are studied and highlight for each growth strategies employed. Beside, growth mechanisms and structural and optical properties of such objects are characterized by SEM, TEM, CL and µPL. In particular, experiments realized on self-organized µWs enable us to observe and explain the origin of the double polarity, to highlight the dopants/impurities incorporation difference between Ga and N-domain, to identify two sections with differences in electrical and optical properties, and to reveal the presence of two types of optical resonances, identify as Whispering Gallery Modes and Fabry-Perot Modes. On the other hand, we study the bending of dislocations on free walls of localized NWs and self-organized µWs, and pointed out the presence of basal stacking faults in regions of small dimensions.

Die Synthese von AlN/GaN- und (Al,In)N/GaN-Braggreflektoren wird untersucht. Die Strukturen wurden mittels plasmaunterstützter Molekularstrahlepitaxie auf 6H-SiC(0001)-Substraten abgeschieden. Ferner wurde der Einfluß der Si-Dotierung auf die Oberflächenmorphologie sowie die strukturellen und elektrischen Eigenschaften der AlN/GaN-Braggreflektoren untersucht. Es wurden rißfreie Braggreflektoren mit einer hohen Reflektivität (R>99%) und einem bei 450 nm zentrierten Stopband erhalten. Die Si-dotierten Strukturen weisen eine ohmsche I-V-Charakteristik im gesamten Meßbereich sowie einen spezifischen Widerstand von 2-4 mOhmcm2 auf. Die Ergebnisse der (Al,In)N-Wachstumsversuche wurden in einem Phasendiagramm zusammengefaßt, welches den optimalen Parameterraum für (Al,In)N klar aufzeigt. / We study the synthesis of AlN/GaN and (Al,In)N/GaN Bragg reflectors. The structures were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on 6H-SiC(0001) substrates. In addition, we study the impact of Si-doping on the surface morphology and the structural and electrical properties of the AlN/GaN Bragg reflectors. Crack-free and high-reflectance (R>99%) Bragg reflectors were achieved with a stopband centered at 450 nm. The Si-doped structures exhibit ohmic I-V behavior in the entire measurement range. The specific series resistance is 2-4 mOhmcm2. The results of the (Al,In)N growth experiments are summarized in a phase diagram which clearly shows the optimum growth window for (Al,In)N.