Influence of dislocations on indium diffusion in semi-polar InGaN/GaN heterostructures

The spatial distribution of indium composition in InGaN/GaN heterostructure is a critical topic for modulating the wavelength of light emitting diodes. In this letter, semi-polar InGaN/GaN heterostructure stripes were fabricated on patterned GaN/Sapphire substrates by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO), and the spatial distribution of indium composition in the InGaN layer was characterized by using cathodoluminescence. It is found that the indium composition is mainly controlled by the diffusion behaviors of metal atoms (In and Ga) on the surface. The diffusivity of metal atoms decreases sharply as migrating to the region with a high density of dislocations and other defects, which influences the distribution of indium composition evidently. Our work is beneficial for the understanding of ELO process and the further development of InGaN/GaN heterostructure based devices.