Non-polar gallium nitride thin films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

A method of growing non-polar Gallium Nitride (GaN), comprising:

• growing GaN, including a non-polar a-plane GaN film, on an r-plane of a sapphire substrate using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and growth conditions including growth temperature, growth pressure, and a V/III ratio, including:
• (a) depositing a GaN layer on the r-plane sapphire substrate at a first growth temperature between 400° C. and 900° C. and at atmospheric pressure;
• and
• (b) growing the non-polar a-plane GaN film on the GaN layer at a growth pressure of 0.2 atmospheres or less, at the growth temperature higher than the first growth temperature, and using a V/III ratio of ˜1300, wherein:
• the non-polar a-plane GaN film has:
• a crystalline quality characterized by an on-axis Omega rocking curve having a full-width half-maximum (FWHM) of no more than 0.29° (1037″) and an off-axis Omega rocking curve having a FWHM of no more than 0.46° (1659″),
• a threading dislocation density of no more than 2.6×1010 cm−2,
• a threading dislocation line direction parallel to a film normal of the non-polar a-plane GaN film,
• stacking faults aligned perpendicular to a c-axis of the non-polar a-plane GaN film with a stacking fault density of no more than 3.8×105 cm−1,
• a top surface with a surface roughness of no more than 2.6 nanometers (nm) over an area of 5 micrometers by 5 micrometers, and
• surface pitting on a sub-micron scale with a density within an order of magnitude of the threading dislocation density.