Improved GaN materials and devices through confined epitaxy

An approach to reduce vertical threading dislocations in the active regions of III-nitride devices is described. The approach involves confined homo- or heteroepitaxy of GaN materials using sputtered oxide masks to delineate growth regions and conventional metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The resulting confined epitaxial material is terminated with equilibrium crystal facets, which form hexagonal mesas, and contains a reduced …