Project TeamTech

A universal process for overcoming the equilibrium crystal shape in crystal growth from the vapor phase

Project is carried out from 1st October 2018 to 29 December 2021

Programme Description

Project is carried out within the TeamTech programme of the Foundation for Polish Science. Programme TEAM-TECH is co-funded in the framework of Program Operacyjny Inteligentny Rozwój (PO IR) oraz Foundation for Polish Science. Programme TEAM-TECH offers grants for research teams headed by leading scientists carrying out R&D projects related to a new product or production process (technological or manufacturing) of significant importance for the economy.

Project Goal

The goal of this project is to develop a universal process for overcoming the equilibrium crystal shape in gallium nitride (GaN) crystal growth from the vapor phase. Currently, the diameter of crystallized GaN decreases in time. Results of the project should allow deposition of thick single crystalline GaN boules with a uniform or expanding diameter. Crystallization process will be carried out on c-plane of native GaN seed. For this purpose, precise control of supersaturation on the crystal’s growing surface is necessary. The supersaturation should be reduced on the edges and sidewalls of the growing crystal. This way adsorption of the growth species on the sidewalls will be minimized, while the growth facet (c-facet) will be stabilized and grown out for an arbitrary time period. Such conditions will be achieved by controlling the thermal field around the growing crystal. The equilibrium crystal shape can be overpowered by a proper thermal field design and that the crystal will follow the thermal field and grow in a direction perpendicular to the isotherms.

International Collaboration

Project is carried out in collaboration with:

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

Center for Integrated Research of Future Electronics, Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, (Amano Laboratory), Japan

Publications

Project results have been published in:

1. T. Sochacki, R. Kucharski, K. Grabianska, J. L. Weyher, M. Iwinska, M. Bockowski and L. Kirste, Fundamental Studies on Crystallization and Reaching the Equilibrium Shape in Basic Ammonothermal Method: Growth on a Native Lenticular Seed, Materials (jun 2022)
2. M. Bockowski, I. Grzegory, Recent Progress in Crystal Growth of Bulk GaN, ACTA PHYSICA POLONICA A (mar 2022)
3. M. Amilusik, M. Zajac, T. Sochacki, B. Lucznik, M. Fijalkowski, M. Iwinska, D. Wlodarczyk, A. K. Somakumar, A. Suchocki, and M. Bockowski, Carbon and manganese in semi-insulating bulk GaN crystals, Materials (mar 2022)
4. M. A. Reshchikov, D. O. Demchenko, D. Ye, O. Andrieiev, M. Vorobiov, K. Grabianska, M. Zajac, P. Nita, M. Iwinska, M. Bockowski, B. McEwen, and F. Shahedipour-Sandvik, The effect of annealing on photoluminescence from defects in ammonothermal GaN, J. Appl. Phys. (jan 2022)
5. R. Kucharski, T. Sochacki, B. Lucznik, M. Amilusik, K. Grabianska, M. Iwinska, and M. Bockowski, Ammonothermal and HVPE Bulk Growth of GaN in Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Power Electronics: Materials, Devices, Applications, Volume 1, Ed. P. Wellmann, N. Ohtani, R. Rupp (oct 2021)
6. Lutz Kirste, Karolina Grabianska, Robert Kucharski, Tomasz Sochacki, Boleslaw Lucznik, Michal Bockowski "Structural Analysis of Low Defect Ammonothermally Grown GaN Wafers by Borrmann Effect X-ray Topography" (sep 2021)
7. J. L. Lyons, E. R. Glaser, M. E. Zvanut, S. Paudel, M. Iwinska, T. Sochaki, and M. Bockowski "Carbon complexes in highly C-doped GaN" Phys. Rev. B (aug 2021)
8. M. A. Reshchikov, M. Vorobiov, K. Grabianska, M. Zajac, M. Iwinska, and M. Bockowski "Defect-related photoluminescence from ammono GaN" J. Appl. Phys. (march 2021)
9. Tomasz Sochacki, Slawomir Sakowski, Pawel Kempisty, Mikolaj Amilusik, Piotr Jaroszynski, Malgorzata Iwinska, Michal Bockowski " Suppressing the lateral growth during HVPE-GaN crystallization in the c-direction"  Journal of Crystal Growth (feb 2021)
10. K. Sierakowski, R. Jakiela, B. Lucznik, P. Kwiatkowski, M. Iwinska, M. Turek, H. Sakurai, T. Kachi and M. Bockowski, High Pressure Processing of Ion Implanted GaN, Electronics (aug 2020)
11. K. Grabianska, P. Jaroszynski, A. Sidor, M. Bockowski, M. Iwinska, GaN Single Crystalline Substrates by Ammonothermal and HVPE Methods for Electronic Devices, Electronics (aug 2020)
12. Rafal Jakiela, Kacper Sierakowski, Tomasz Sochacki, Małgorzata Iwinska, Michal Fijalkowski, Adam Barcz, Michal Bockowski "Investigation of diffusion mechanism of beryllium in GaN" Physica B: Condensed Matter (oct 2020)
13. K. Grabianska, R. Kucharski, A. Puchalski, T. Sochacki, M. Bockowski "Recent progress in basic ammonothermal GaN crystal growth" Journal of Crystal Growth (oct 2020)
14. R. Kucharski, T. Sochacki, B. Lucznik, M. Bockowski "Growth of bulk GaN crystals" Journal of Applied Physics (aug 2020)
15. Ferdinand Scholz, Michal Bockowski, Ewa Grzanka "GaN-Based Materials" (aug 2020)
16. R. Piotrzkowski, M. Zajac, E. Litwin-Staszewska, M. Bockowski "Self-compensation of carbon in HVPE-GaN:C" Appl. Phys. Lett. (jul 2020)
17. M. Amilusik, D. Wlodarczyk, A. Suchocki, M. Bockowski "Micro-Raman studies of strain in bulk GaN crystals grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy on ammonothermal GaN seeds" Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (may 2019)
18. Malgorzata Iwinska, Marcin Zajac, Boleslaw Lucznik, Michal Fijalkowski, Mikolaj Amilusik, Tomasz Sochacki, Elzbieta Litwin-Staszewska, Ryszard Piotrzkowski, Izabella Grzegory, Michal Bockowski "Iron and manganese as dopants used in the crystallization of highly resistive HVPE-GaN on native seeds" Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (may 2019)
19. M. Amilusik, T. Sochacki, M. Fijalkowski, B. Lucznik, M. Iwinska, A. Sidor, H. Teisseyre, J. Domagała, I. Grzegory, M. Bockowski "Homoepitaxial growth by halide vapor phase epitaxy of semi-polar GaN on ammonothermal seeds" Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (may 2019)
20. Tomasz Sochacki, Sakari Sintonen, Jan Weyher, Mikolaj Amilusik, Aneta Sidor, Michal Bockowski "Synchrotron radiation X-ray topography and defect selective etching analysis of threading dislocations in halide vapor phase epitaxy GaN crystal grown on ammonothermal seed" Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (may 2019)

Submitted patents

1. R. Kucharski, K. Grabiańska, M. Bockowski, A method for reducing a lateral growth of crystals, Patent: Submission number 1600008772 Application number EP21461556.9
2. Kucharski, K. Grabiańska, A. Puchalski, M. Bockowski, A method for reducing or eliminating cracks during the crystal growing process and a shaped metal piece for use in this method, Patent: Submission number 1600008878 Application number EP214615833

Professor

The 17th of June 2021 by the decision of the President of Poland, M. Bockowski became a full professor.

PHD THESES

Two PhD theses were realized during the project. The students defended their PhD theses with excellent notes at the Institute of High Pressure Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The subjects of their theses were correlated to the main subject of the project, bulk gallium nitride (GaN) crystal growth. The students were examining doping processes for n-type and semi-insulating GaN crystals grown by halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) in the polar [0001] direction as well as non-polar and semi-polar crystallization of HVPE-GaN. The supervisor of both theses was the PI of this project prof. M. Bockowski. The titles of the theses were as follows:

1. HVPE as a Method for Crystallizing GaN with Low Background Impurity Concentration with Controllable Doping - Highly Conductive N-type and Semi-insulating Material
2. Określenie Mechanizmów Wzrostu i Domieszkowania Kryształów Azotku Galu Wzrastanych z Fazy Gazowej Metodą Halogenkową w Wybranych Kierunkach Półpolarnych i Niepolarnych

Master theses

There were three Master degree students with scholarships for 10 months in the project. The students defended their Master theses with excellent notes at the Faculty of Physics and Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the Warsaw University of Technology. The topics of their theses were correlated to the main subject of the project. The students were examining doping processes for n-type and semi-insulating (SI) GaN crystals as well as working on the improvement of the operational and repair strategy of the machines used for the processing of monocrystalline GaN substrates. The supervisor of two theses (at the Faculty of Physics) was the PI of this project, prof. M. Bockowski. For the third thesis the PI acted as a consultant. The titles of the theses were as follows:

1. Influence of growth temperature and pressure on donor dopants in gallium nitride (GaN) crystallized from gas phase by HVPE method (Piotr Jaroszynski).
2. Examination of physical properties of bulk, semi-insulating gallium nitride (GaN) crystal grown by HVPE method (Kacper Sierakowski).
3. Projekt usprawnienia gospodarki eksploatacyjnej i remontowej dla maszyn do obróbki monokrystalicznych podłoży azotku galu w Instytucie Wysokich Ciśnień PAN (Aneta Sidor).

Lectures

Project results have been presented by:

1. M. Bockowski, What has recently been discovered and what we still need to find out about crystallization of truly bulk GaN, The International Workshop on Nitride Semiconductors, October 09-14, 2022 Berlin, Germany – invited lecture
2. T. Sochacki,  Suppressing the lateral growth during HVPE-GaN crystallization in the c-direction, The International Workshop on Nitride Semiconductors, October 09-14, 2022 Berlin, Germany – contributed  
3. M. Bockowski, Carbon in highly conductive and semi-insulating bulk GaN crystals, Polish Conference on Crystal Growth 2022, Gdansk 19-24 June 2022- contributed
4. M. Bockowski, GaN-on-GaN technology, Seminarium Fizyki Ciała Stałego FUW, 1st April 2022 - invited lecture
5. M. Amilusik, Carbon and manganese in semi-insulating bulk GaN crystals, SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum, 28 January - 3 February 2022 - contributed
6. M. Bockowski, A bumpy road from GaN seeds to substrates - ammonothermal crystal growth technology and wafering procedures, Institute of Global Innovation Research, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 23 Dec. 2021 – invited lecture
7. M. Bockowski, GaN-on-GaN technology - challenges and perspectives, Huawei Strategy and Technology Workshop (STW) 2021 14-16 Oct. 2021 – invited lecture
8. K. Grabianska, Recent progress in basic ammonothermal GaN crystal growth, SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum, 6 - 11 March 2021 - contributed
9. K. Sierakowski, Investigation of Be diffusion coefficients for various crystallographic directions in GaN grown by HVPE, SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum, 6 - 11 March 2021 - contributed
10. P. Jaroszynski, Highly conductive ammonothermal GaN substrates with controlled concentration of gallium vacancies, SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum, 6 - 11 March 2021 - poster
11. M. Boćkowski, Recent progress in bulk GaN crystal growth, Feb. 1st - 3rd 2021 International Workshop on Materials Science and Advanced Electronics Created by Singularity - invited lecture
12. M. Zajac, Self-compensation of carbon in GaN doped with carbon and co-doped with carbon and manganese, 4th Dec. 2020 CIRFE GaN Webinar Series; Poland-Japan (Unipress-NU) Seminar on GaN - invited lecture
13. P. Jaroszynski, Innovative approach for controlling and tuning physical properties of bulk gallium nitride by ion implantation and original ultra-high pressure processing, 27th Nov. 2020 CIRFE GaN Webinar Series; Poland-Japan (Unipress-NU) Seminar on GaN - invited lecture
14. K. Sierakowski, Investigation of Be diffusion in GaN grown by HVPE, 27th Nov. 2020 CIRFE GaN Webinar Series; Poland-Japan (Unipress-NU) Seminar on GaN - invited lecture
15. K. Grabianska, Recent progress in basic ammonothermal growth of gallium nitride, 20th Nov. 2020 CIRFE GaN Webinar Series; Poland-Japan (Unipress-NU) Seminar on GaN - invited lecture
16. M. Iwinska, Technology of Gallium Nitride Crystal Growth - Challenges and Perspectives October 4-9, 2020 PRiME 2020 online meeting - invited lecture
17. M. Boćkowski, Recent progress in bulk GaN growth February 1st-6th SPIE, Photonics West 2020, San Francisco, USA - contributed
18. M. Bockowski, Gallium Nitride Crystal Growth Technology, Institute of Global Innovation Research Seminar, 06.12.2019 Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology - invited lecture
19. M. Bockowski, High quality GaN substrates for electronic and optoelectronic applications, JST-ACCEL Symposium, 22.11.2019, Tokyo University - invited lecture
20. M. Bockowski, GaN-on-GaN technology ďż˝ challenges and perespectives, Institute of Global Innovation Research Symposium, 19.11.2019 Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology - invited lecture
21. M. Bockowski, Bulk growth of GaN. How to overcome the equilibrium crystal shape? APWS2019, 10th-15th November, Okinawa, Japan, - invited lecture
22. M. Bockowski, GaN-on-GaN technology; challenges and perspectives. CIRFE, IMaSS, Nagoya University, 07th October 2019 Japan - invited lecture
23. T. Sochacki, Crystallization of GaN by HVPE method with controlled lateral growth, ICCGE-19 28th July-2nd August 2019, Keystone, Colorado, USA – invited lecture
24. T. Sochacki, HVPE-GaN Doped with Carbon and/or Manganese, ICCGE-19 28th July-2nd August 2019, Keystone, Colorado, USA - contributed
25. T. Sochacki, Thick GaN crystals of high purity grown with an increased rate by ammonobasic method, ICCGE-19 28th July-2nd August 2019, Keystone, Colorado, USA, - contributed
26. M. Amilusik, Point defects in GaN:Mg crystals grown by ammonothermal method ICCGE-19 28th July-2nd August 2019, Keystone, Colorado, USA, - contributed
27. M. Amilusik, Detailed study of HVPE-GaN doped with silicon, ICCGE-19 28th July-2nd August 2019, Keystone, Colorado, USA - contributed
28. M. Amilusik, Implantation of beryllium into thin unintentionally doped layers of gallium nitride crystallized by halide vapor phase epitaxy, ICCGE-19 28th July-2nd August 2019, Keystone, Colorado, USA- poster
29. M. Zajac, Thick GaN crystals of high purity grown with an increased rate by ammonobasic method, ICNS-13, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA - contributed
30. M. Zajac, P-type conductivity of GaN:Zn monocrystals obtained by ammonothermal method, ICNS-13, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA – contributed
31. M. Zajac, ICNS-13, Point defects in GaN:Mg crystals grown by ammonothermal method, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA – contributed
32. M. Iwinska, Implantation of beryllium into thin unintentionally doped layers of gallium nitride crystallized by halide vapor phase epitaxy, ICNS-13, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA – contributed
33. M. Iwinska, HVPE-GaN Doped with Carbon and/or Manganese, ICNS-13, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA – contributed
34. B. Lucznik, Detailed study of HVPE-GaN doped with silicon, ICNS -13, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA – poster
35. B. Lucznik, Crystallization of GaN by HVPE method with controlled lateral growth, ICNS-13, 7th-12th July, 2019 Bellevue, Washington, USA –contributed
36. M. Bockowski, Bulk growth of GaN. How to overcome the equilibrium crystal shape?, MGCTF2019, 1-5 July 2019, St. Petersburg, Russia – invited lecture
37. T. Sochacki, GaN Substrates of the Highest Structural Quality, CIRFE, IMaSS, Nagoya University, 27th May 2019 Japan - invited lecture
38. T. Sochacki, GaN Substrates of the Highest Structural Quality, CSW2019, 19th-23rd May 2019 Nara, Japan - invited lecture
39. M. Bockowski, Bulk Growth of GaN-status, perespectives and trends; GPCCG3, 17th-21st March 2019 Poznan, Poland - invited lecture
40. M. Iwinska, Semi-insulating HVPE-GaN grown on native seeds, SPIE, Photonics West 2019, 3rd-7th February, San Francisco, USA - contributed
41. M. Iwińska, Influence of different dopants on the properties of bulk GaN, 4th IDGNS, 18th-20th November, Sendai, Japan –invited lecture
42. M. Amilusik, Micro-Raman Studies of Strain in Bulk GaN Crystals Grown by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy on Ammonothermal GaN Seeds, IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan –poster
43. M. Amilusik, Growth of GaN:Mg by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy, IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan –contributed
44. M. Amilusik, Homoepitaxial Growth by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy of Semi-Polar GaN on Ammonothermal Seeds, IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan - contributed
45. B. Lucznik, Gradient of silicon concentration in HVPE-GaN, IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan - contributed
46. M. Iwińska, Highly resistive HVPE-GaN grown on native seeds - investigation and comparison of different dopants, , IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan - contributed
47. T. Sochacki Crystallization of GaN by HVPE method with controlled lateral growth, IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan - contributed
48. M. Bockowski, Combination of advantages of HVPE and ammonothermal methods as a solution for crystallization of GaN, IWN2018, 11th-16th November, Kanazawa, Japan –invited lecture