Structure and chemistry of the (111) Sc2 O3 / (0001) GaN epitaxial interface

Abstract

The structure and chemistry of the (111) Sc2 O3 / (0001) GaN epitaxial interface grown by molecular-beam epitaxy have been investigated. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals an abrupt Sc2 O3 /GaN interface with a hexagonal misfit dislocation network. These dislocations have Burgers vectors of (a/3) 〈 11 2- 0 〉 GaN and line directions parallel to 〈 1 1- 00 〉 GaN, with an average spacing of ∼3.8 nm. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectrometry reveal the intermixing of Sc, O, and N over a region with a width of ∼1.5 nm at the interface. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.