Surface morphology of AlN layers grown on a nano-structured SiN$_x$/Si(100) template

The morphology of ALN layers grown by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition on nano-structured NP-Si(001) substrates coated with SiN$_x$ has been studied using atomic force microscopy. The AlN layers grown on the SiN$_x$/NP-Si(100) template demonstrate a surface roughness 3.8 times less than those obtained on NP-Si(100), and are close to the roughness value for the AlN layer grown on a flat Si(111) substrate. It has been proposed a model to explain the differences in the formation of the surface morphology of AlN layers on the NP-Si(100) substrate and the SiN$_x$/NP-Si(100) template.