Three-Dimensional Hetero-Integration of Faceted GaN on Si Pillars for Efficient Light Energy Conversion Devices

An important pathway for cost-effective light energy conversion devices, such as solar cells and light emitting diodes, is to integrate III–V (e.g., GaN) materials on Si substrates. Such integration first necessitates growth of high crystalline III–V materials on Si, which has been the focus of many studies. However, the integration also requires that the final III–V/Si structure has a high light energy conversion efficiency. To accomplish these twin goals, we use single-crystalline microsized Si pillars as a seed layer to first grow faceted Si structures, which are then used for the heteroepitaxial growth of faceted GaN films. These faceted GaN films on Si have high crystallinity, and their threading dislocation density is similar to that of GaN grown on sapphire. In addition, the final faceted GaN/Si structure has great light absorption and extraction characteristics, leading to improved performance for GaN-on-Si light energy conversion devices.