Growth of strain-compensated InGaN/AlN multiple quantum wells on GaN by MOVPE

Strain-compensated InGaN/AlN MQWs were grown on a c-plane GaN/sapphire template by MOVPE at 780 °C. After optimization of its growth conditions, several samples of InGaN/AlN MQWs with varied well and barrier thicknesses were prepared in order to find the best balance of each layer thickness. Strains inside the MQWs were evaluated by reciprocal space mapping (RSM) measurements, and the results were quite consistent with the calculation of strain estimation. Characterization by HRXRD and photoluminescence measurements revealed an impact of strain accumulation on the quality of MQWs, and the best results were obtained in the most strain-compensated InGaN/AlN MQWs. Compared with InGaN/GaN MQWs with the same thicknesses of wells and barriers, InGaN/AlN MQWs proved to have promising characteristics for several optical devices.

► We report the first successful growth of InGaN/AlN MQWs on GaN by MOVPE.
► Reactor pressure was found to be influential for the growth of InGaN/AlN.
► Strain compensation is possible and quite important in InGaN/AlN MQWs growth.
► Strains estimated by reciprocal space maps were consistent with calculated strain.
► InGaN/AlN MQWs showed better results of XRD and PL compared with InGaN/GaN MQWs.