Metastable nature of InN and In-rich InGaN alloys

The paper provides a thermodynamic insight into the metastable nature of InN and In-rich InGaN alloys, based on experimental studies of their plasma-assisted MBE growth and high-temperature decomposition, as well as on theoretical modeling of nitrogen vacancy behavior. This instability may easily result in occurrence of metallic In nanoparticles in the bulk of In(Ga)N films and in the vicinity of extended defects at high enough In content, which makes us consider this material as a metal-semiconductor composite. An overview of a wide set of experimental studies performed by us on the epitaxial films grown in many laboratories all around the world is given which proves an existence of such In nanoparticles in the films and shows how they affect optical and electrical properties of the epilayers. Possible applications of epitaxial InN layers for THz emitters and magnetic field sensors are discussed.