Patterned Substrate Design for Layer Growth

A method comprising:

• creating a design for a patterned surface for a substrate of a device based on growth attributes for a buffer layer to be grown on the patterned surface, wherein the patterned surface includes a set of substantially flat top surfaces and a plurality of openings, wherein each substantially flat top surface includes a set of regions having a root mean square roughness less than approximately 0.5 nanometers, and wherein the plurality of openings have a characteristic size between approximately 0.1 micron and five microns;
• and
• fabricating the device using the design, wherein the fabricating includes:
• growing the buffer layer directly on the substrate;
• and
• growing a light emitting active region on the buffer layer.

A system comprising:

• a computer system configured to implement a method of fabricating a device, the method comprising:
• fabricating a patterned surface for a substrate of the device based on growth attributes for a buffer layer to be grown on the patterned surface, wherein the patterned surface includes a set of substantially flat top surfaces and a plurality of openings, wherein each substantially flat top surface includes a set of regions having a root mean square roughness less than approximately 0.5 nanometers, and wherein the plurality of openings have a characteristic size between approximately 0.1 micron and five microns;
• growing a group III-nitride buffer layer directly on the patterned surface of the substrate;
• and
• growing a group III-nitride light emitting active region on the buffer layer.