Growth of bulk GaN crystals

Abstract

Perspectives about growth of bulk gallium nitride crystals, fabricating high structural quality gallium nitride wafers and the market demand for them are presented. Three basic crystal growth technologies, halide vapor phase epitaxy, sodium flux, and ammonothermal, are described. Their advantages and disadvantages, recent development, and possibilities are discussed. The main difficulty with crystallization of thick GaN is determined. Some new solutions for bulk growth are proposed. It is shown that only crystallization on high structural quality native seeds will ensure proper progress. New ideas for fabricating gallium nitride crystals and wafers with a better control of their structural properties and point defect concentration are proposed.