Defect Analysis in III-V Semiconductor Thin Films Grown by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) is an epitaxial growth technique renowned for its ability to grow III-V semiconductors at high growth rates using lower cost reagents compared to metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), the current industry standard. Recent interest in III-V photovoltaics has led to increased attention on HVPE. While the technique came to maturity in the 70s, much is unknown about how defects incorporate in HVPE-grown materials. Further understanding of how defects incorporate in III-V materials grown by HVPE is necessary to facilitate wider adoption of the technique. This information would inform strategies for minimizing and eliminating defects in HVPE materials, allowing for the formation of high performance devices. This investigation presents a study of multiple defects in III-V semiconductors grown by HVPE in the context of specific device applications, spanning point defects comprised of individual atoms to extended defects which propagate throughout the crystal.;The incorporation of the arsenic anti-site defect, AsGa, intrinsic point defect was studied in high growth rate GaAs layers with potential photovoltaic applications. Relationships between growth conditions and incorporation of AsGa in GaAs epilayers were determined. The incorporation of AsGa depended strongly on the growth conditions employed, and a model was developed to predict the concentration of anti-site defects as a function of those growth conditions. Dislocations and anti-phase domain boundaries (APDBs), two types of extended defects, were investigated in the heteroepitaxial GaAs/Ge system. It was found that the use of 6° miscut substrates and specific growth temperatures led to elimination of APDBs. Dislocation densities were reduced through the use of high growth temperatures.;The third and final application investigated was the growth of InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs) by HVPE. The relationships between the growth conditions and the alloy composition were determined, and a model was developed to explain the observed behavior. Compositional grading strategies were explored and insight into the minimization of dislocations in these layers was developed. The dislocation microstructure was analyzed by TEM and related to the layer design, leading to the development of an atomic scale model for dislocation nucleation and propagation throughout the MBL layers.