Investigation of the presence of metal droplets after pulsed InN and GaN epitaxial growth using atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation

► GaN and InN layers are grown by pulsed migration enhanced epitaxial growth. ► Presence of Ga- and In-metal droplets is identified by nanoindentation. ► The method is confirmed for In-droplets on InN layers by XRD and etching with HCl. ► AFM phase-contrast does not conform to the surface material distribution.