Scans along arbitrary directions in reciprocal space and the analysis of GaN films on SiC

Equations governing scans along arbitrary directions in reciprocal space were developed and used to map reciprocal lattice points (RLPs) with radial raster patterns to study mosaic structure in GaN thin films deposited on semi-insulating 4H-SiC substrates using AlN nucleation layers (NLs). The films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy, keeping the GaN growth conditions the same, but using different AlN NL growth conditions. Mosaic tilt angles determined from symmetric RLP breadth measurements were similar for all samples measured, consistent with screw and mixed dislocation densities determined from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. Mosaic twist was determined using off-axis skew-symmetric high resolution x-ray diffraction measurements of asymmetric RLP breadths, yielding results consistent with grazing incidence in-plane x-ray diffraction twist measurements. A clear correlation between the twist angle and the edge and mixed dislocation densities determined by TEM was not observed, warranting careful consideration of dislocation structure.