Piezoresponse force microscopy for polarity imaging of GaN

Authors

B.J. Rodriguez, North Carolina State University, RaleighFollow
Alexei Gruverman, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
A. I. Kingon, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
R. J. Nemanich, North Carolina State University, Box 8202, Raleigh, North Carolina

Date of this Version

6-3-2002

Comments

Published in Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 80, No. 22, 3 June 2002. Copyright © 2002 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

The polarity distribution of GaN based lateral polarity heterostructures is investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Simultaneous imaging of surface morphology, as well as the phase and magnitude of the piezoelectric response, is performed by PFM on a GaN film with patterned polarities on a c-Al₂O₃ substrate. We demonstrate that the polarity distribution of GaN based lateral polarity heterostructures can be deduced from the phase image of the piezoresponse with nanometer scale spatial resolution.