Structural characteristics and lattice parameters of hydride vapor phase epitaxial GaN free-standing quasisubstrates

We have studied the lattice parameters of hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE)-GaN quasisubstrates in relation to their structural properties. Layers grown on single-layer metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) templates and on epitaxial lateral overgrown MOVPE templates are characterized by Raman scattering, high-resolution x-ray diffraction, and reciprocal space mapping. The strain relaxation in the films versus their thickness was found to proceed similarly in the GaN samples grown using the two types of templates but the strain saturates at different nonzero levels. The lattice parameters of relatively thin HVPE-GaN free-standing quasisubstrates indicate that no total strain relaxation is achieved after the sapphire removal. The lattice parameters of the thick quasisubstrates grown on different templates are not affected by the separation process and are found to have values very close to the reference strain-free lattice parameters of GaN powder.