Employing Discontinuous and Continuous Growth Modes for Preparation of AlN Nanostructures on SiC Substrates

In this report we present results on growth and characterization of AlN wires and thin films on SiC substrates. We have employed PVT technique in close space geometry for AlN deposition on SiC off oriented substrates, most of which were prepared to have scratch-free smooth as-grown surface by SiC sublimation epitaxy. By manipulating the surface kinetics we have been able to determine growth conditions yielding discontinuous or continuous morphologies corresponding to nanowires and thin films, respectively. A particular feature of the latter experiments is the fast temperature ramp up at the growth initiation. The AlN surface morphology was characterized by optical, AFM and XRD tools, which showed good crystal quality independent of the growth mode.