High-Temperature Illumination-Induced Metastability in Undoped Semi-Insulating GaN Grown by Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy

High-temperature (high-T) illumination-induced metastability in undoped semi-insulating (SI) GaN grown on a-plane sapphire by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy has been studied using thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectroscopy, photocurrent (PC) and persistent photocurrent (PPC) measurements. The metastability can be induced by illumination at 390>T>300K (using either white or 360-nm light), followed by cooling the sample to 83 K in the dark. Without high-T illumination, the SI-GaN sample stays in its normal state (“off” state), and shows at least six TSC traps, B (0.63 eV), B x (0.51 eV), C 1 (0.44 eV), C (0.32 eV), D (0.23 eV), and E (0.16 eV). However, after high-T illumination the sample goes into a metastable state (“on” state), and shows a strong increase in both the PC at 83 K and the TSC of traps D, C, and E, accompanied by significant change in their relative densities. PPC at 83 K in the “on” state lasts much longer than that in the “off” state. Association of possible point defects and dislocations with the metastability behavior will be discussed.