Synthesis and Characterization of GaN Rods Prepared by Ammono-Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

GaN rods were deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) onto sapphire (0 0 0 1) and amorphous quartz. The reactive Ga species in vapor the phase was formed with NH4Cl and gallium. The unidirectional growth was catalyzed with gold nanoparticles formed onto the substrate prior to the CVD reaction in order to induce a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism. However, this method of synthesis seems to be influenced by other growth mechanisms which formed additional depositions of GaN with different morphology than the rods catalyzed by gold nanoparticles. The moieties of GaN that grew in the absence of gold formed branches in the rods or increased the lateral growth of rods resulting in larger diameters than the size of the gold particle that guided the growth.