Abstract
It is known that lateral growth of semiconductors is important to bend and annihilate threading dislocations during epitaxial growth. In order to understand the initial growth process of AlN during solid source solution growth, we developed in-situ observation system for high-temperature liquid/solid interfaces. In this study, we used transparent substrate, i.e., AlN/sapphire template, so as to observe high-temperature liquid/solid interfaces through the substrate from the bottom. Though a polycrystal formed because of melt-back etching during the initial stage of growth; nevertheless, initial growth process was successfully observed by the in-situ observation system. This in-situ observation system could be a powerful tool for investigating interfacial phenomena at high-temperature liquid/solid interfaces and optimizing crystal growth conditions.
