Multiple epitaxial lateral overgrowth of GaN thin films using a patterned graphene mask by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Single-crystal gallium nitride (GaN) thin films were grown using a graphene mask via multiple epitaxial lateral overgrowth (multiple-ELOG). During the growth process, the graphene mask self-decomposed to enable the emergence of a GaN film with a thickness of several hundred nanometres. This is in contrast to selective area growth of GaN using an SiO₂ mask leading to the well known hexagonal-pyramid shape under the same growth conditions. The multiple-ELOG GaN had a single-crystalline wurtzite structure corresponding to the crystallinity of the GaN template, which was confirmed with electron backscatter diffraction measurements. An X-ray diffraction rocking curve of the asymmetric 102 reflection showed that the FWHM for the multiple-ELOG GaN decreased to 405 from 540′′ for the underlying GaN template. From these results, the self-decomposition of the graphene mask during ELOG was experimentally proven to be affected by the GaN decomposition rather than the high-temperature/H₂ growth conditions.