Here, we report on the epitaxial growth of GaN on patterned SiO2-covered cone-shaped patterned sapphire surfaces (PSS). Physical vapor deposition (PVD) AlN films were used as buffers deposited on the SiO2-PSS substrates. The gallium nitride (GaN) growth on these substrates at different alternating radio frequency (RF) power and nitridation times was monitored with sequences of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging results. The SEM and AFM show the detail of the crystalline process from different angles. Our findings show that the growth mode varies according to the deposition condition of the AlN films. We demonstrate a particular case where a low critical alternating current (AC) power is just able to break SiO2 covalent bonds, enabling the growth of GaN on the sides of the patterns. Furthermore, we show that by using the appropriate nitridation condition, the photoluminescence (PL) integral and peak intensities of the blue light epi-layer were enhanced by more than 5% and 15%, respectively. It means the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of epitaxial structures is promoted. The screw dislocation density was reduced by 65% according to the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra.
Keywords: GaN epitaxy; composited patterned substrate; light-emitting diode; sputtering AlN.