Growth of HVPE-GaN on native seeds - numerical simulation based on experimental results

Investigation of source of stress in HVPE-GaN grown in c-direction on native seeds is reported. The study was based on experimental results. Ammonothermally grown GaN seed was used for growth of a thick HVPE-GaN layer in the c-direction. Deterioration of quality of the HVPE-GaN layer appeared. Numerical simulations were used for determining and examining radial, tangential, and axial stress distributions in the grown GaN crystal and the seed. The maximum equivalent stress (von Mises stress) was calculated and analyzed. It was shown that growth in non-polar and semi-polar directions, which appears on the edges of the crystal during crystallization process, can generate a very large tensile stress in GaN growing in the c-direction. This stress is much larger than the one generated due to a lattice mismatch between the ammonothermal seed and the deposited HVPE layer.