Large-Scale Defect Clusters with Hexagonal Honeycomb-like Arrangement in Ammonothermal GaN Crystals

In this paper, we investigate, using X-ray Bragg diffraction imaging and defect selective etching, a new type of extended defect that occurs in ammonothermally grown gallium nitride (GaN) single crystals. This hexagonal “honeycomb” shaped defect is composed of bundles of parallel threading edge dislocations located in the corners of the hexagon. The observed size of the honeycomb ranges from 0.05 mm to 2 mm and is clearly correlated with the number of dislocations located in each of the hexagon’s corners: typically ~5 to 200, respectively. These dislocations are either grouped in areas that exhibit “diameters” of 100-250 µm, or they show up as straight long chain alignments of the same size that behave like limited subgrain boundaries. The lattice distortions associated with these hexagonally arranged dislocation bundles are extensively measured on one of these honeycombs using rocking curve imaging, and the ensemble of the results is discussed with the aim of providing clues about the origin of these “honeycombs”.