Improving the quality of GaN crystals by using graphene or hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets substrate.

The progress in nitrides technology is widely believed to be limited and hampered by the lack of high-quality gallium nitride wafers. Though various epitaxial techniques like epitaxial lateral overgrowth and its derivatives have been used to reduce defect density, there is still plenty of room for the improvement of gallium nitride crystal. Here, we report graphene or hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets can be used to improve the quality of GaN crystal using hydride vapor phase epitaxy methods. These nanosheets were directly deposited on the substrate that is used for the epitaxial growth of GaN crystal. Systematic characterizations of the as-obtained crystal show that quality of GaN crystal is greatly improved. The fabricated light-emitting diodes using the as-obtained GaN crystals emit strong electroluminescence under room illumination. This simple yet effective technique is believed to be applicable in metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems and will find wide applications on other crystal growth.