The effect of Mg doping on stacking fault (SF) formation in c-plane GaN grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition was studied for Mg concentration between 2 x 1018 cm−3 and 5 x 1019 cm−3. Transmission electron microscopy studies demonstrate a direct correlation between the increasing Mg content and the number of small (3–10nm long) SFs present. The energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) line profile of a SF shows that the Mg-impurity atom resides at a distance approximately 5nm from the SF. Cathodoluminescence (CL) mapping reveals that the Mg-doped regions radiate at energies corresponding to known SF emission peaks. SF-related peaks in CL spectra show metastability, which may be attributed to transfer processes involving Mg acceptors and nearby associated SFs.

Luminescence Related to High Density of Mg-Induced Stacking Faults in Homoepitaxially Grown GaN. S.Khromov, C.G.Hemmingsson, H.Amano, B.Monemar, L.Hultman, G.Pozina: Physical Review B, 2011, 84[7], 075324