Abstract
Although GaN is an important semiconductor material, its amorphous structures are not well
understood. Currently, theoretical atomistic structural models which contradict each other, are
proposed for the chemical short-range order of amorphous GaN: one characterizes amorphous GaN
networks as highly chemically ordered, consisting of heteronuclear Ga-N atomic bonds; and the
other predicts the existence of a large number of homonuclear bonds within the first coordination
shell. In the present study, we examine amorphous structures of GaN via radial distribution
functions obtained by electron diffraction techniques. The experimental results demonstrate that
amorphous GaN networks consist of heterononuclear Ga-N bonds, as well as homonuclear Ga-Ga
and N-N bonds.