Highly Si-doped cubic GaN films were grown onto a Si(001) substrate which was coated with a 2.5nm-thick flat 3C–SiC buffer layer. The Si doping concentrations ranged from 1019 to 1021/cm3. Upon Si doping, the initial nucleation sites coalesced easily to produce a flat surface with a 4 x 1 reconstruction and preferential growth in the [110] direction. The density of stacking faults also increased. The replacement of Ga atoms by Si atoms, and the increased density of stacking faults, helped to relieve the compressive stress in GaN which was caused by the lattice mismatch between the GaN film and the substrate.

Si-Doped Cubic GaN Grown on a Si(001) Substrate with a Thin Flat SiC Buffer Layer. D.Wang, S.Yoshida, M.Ichikawa: Applied Physics Letters, 2002, 80[14], 2472-4