The availability of high quality, free-standing GaN substrates opens windows for new device applications in III-nitrides, especially in vertical structures. With the introduction of these native substrates, the properties of nitrides are no longer dominated by defects introduced by heteroepitaxial growth. However, additional materials challenges are coming to the forefront that need to be understood and surmounted in order to allow homoepitaxial devices to achieve their full potential.

In order to enable device-quality epitaxial layers, a deeper understanding of substrate preparation and the effects of the substrate and growth initiation on the characteristics of the epitaxial layers is required for metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of homoepitaxial films. We investigate these effects on epi morphology, uniformity, and impurity incorporation at the interface and in the films. Although the initial substrate factors influencing the epi can be subtle, they can have far reaching impact on device performance. Additionally, the interface between substrate and epitaxy is examined to enable reduction of unintentional impurity incorporation, especially Si, at this surface. By studying these effects using wafers from several different vendors, with substrates from both hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and ammonothermal techniques, an understanding of the requirements for device quality MOCVD homoepitaxy can be determined.