THE ENERGETICS OF THE GAN MBE REACTION - A CASE-STUDY OF META-STABLE GROWTH

The very large kinetic and thermodynamic barriers present in the GaN s ystem make it ideally suited for studying the fundamental mechanisms i nvolved in synthesizing meta-stable solids. In this paper, the critica l factors necessary for the successful growth of GaN thin films under meta-stable conditions are outlined. Experimental results of GaN synth esis by plasma-enhanced Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) are used to illus trate the key steps in the process and to demonstrate the validity of the approach. The issues involved in improving the quality of thin fil ms using meta-stable growth methods are explicitly outlined in order t hat the method can be successfully applied to other epitaxial systems.