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In situ microbeam surface X-ray scattering reveals alternating step kinetics during crystal growth

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The stacking sequence of hexagonal close-packed and related crystals typically results in steps on vicinal {0001} surfaces that have alternating A and B structures with different growth kinetics. However, because… Click to show full abstract

The stacking sequence of hexagonal close-packed and related crystals typically results in steps on vicinal {0001} surfaces that have alternating A and B structures with different growth kinetics. However, because it is difficult to experimentally identify which step has the A or B structure, it has not been possible to determine which has faster adatom attachment kinetics. Here we show that in situ microbeam surface X-ray scattering can determine whether A or B steps have faster kinetics under specific growth conditions. We demonstrate this for organo-metallic vapor phase epitaxy of (0001) GaN. X-ray measurements performed during growth find that the average width of terraces above A steps increases with growth rate, indicating that attachment rate constants are higher for A steps, in contrast to most predictions. Our results have direct implications for understanding the atomic-scale mechanisms of GaN growth and can be applied to a wide variety of related crystals.

Keywords: growth; microbeam surface; situ microbeam; surface ray; ray scattering; ray

Journal Title: Nature Communications
Year Published: 2021

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