Review of the Properties of GaN, InN, and Their Alloys Obtained in Cubic Phase on MgO Substrates by Plasma-Enhanced Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Abstract

Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors and their broadband InGaN alloys in their hexagonal phase have been extensively studied over the past 30 years and have allowed the development of blue-ray lasers, which are essential disruptive developments. In addition to high-efficiency white light-emitting diodes, which have revolutionized lighting technologies and generated a great industry around these semiconductors, several transistors have been developed that take advantage of the characteristics of these semiconductors. These include power transistors for high-frequency applications and high-power transistors for power electronics, among other devices, which have far superior achievements. However, less effort has been devoted to studying GaN and InGaN alloys grown in the cubic phase. The metastable or cubic phase of III-N alloys has superior characteristics compared to the hexagonal phase, mainly because of the excellent symmetry. It can be used to improve lighting technologies and develop other devices. Indium gallium nitride, InxGa1−xN alloy, has a variable band interval of 0.7 to 3.4 eV that covers almost the entire solar spectrum, making it a suitable material for increasing the efficiencies of photovoltaic devices. In this study, we successfully synthesized high-quality cubic InGaN films on MgO (100) substrates using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE), demonstrating tunable emissions across the visible spectrum by varying the indium concentration. We significantly reduced the defect density and enhanced the crystalline quality by using an intermediate cubic GaN buffer layer. We not only developed a heterostructure with four GaN/InGaN/GaN quantum wells, achieving violet, blue, yellow, and red emissions, but also highlighted the immense potential of cubic InGaN films for high-efficiency light-emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices. Achieving better p-type doping levels is crucial for realizing diodes with excellent performance, and our findings will pave the way for this advancement.