Growth of Ga-face and N-face GaN films using ZnO substrates

We have used plasma molecular beam epitaxy on (0 0 0 1) and (0 0 0 1̄) ZnO substrates to induce epitaxial growth of GaN of a known polarity. The polarity of the ZnO substrates can be easily and unambiguously determined by measuring the sign of the piezoelectric coefficient. If we assume that N-face GaN grows on O face ZnO and that Ga-face GaN grows on Zn face ZnO, then we can study the growth of both Ga and N faces. The most striking difference is the doping behavior of the two faces. Growth on the Ga-face is characterized by a higher carrier concentration and a lower threshold for Ga droplet formation.