Magneto-optical spectroscopy of defects in wide bandgap semiconductors: GaN and SiC

We review recent progress in our understanding of intrinsic defects in GaN and SiC, gained from magneto-optical studies by Zeeman measurements and optically detected magnetic resonance. The two best-known intrinsic defects in these two wide bandgap semiconductors, i.e. the Ga interstitial in GaN and the silicon vacancy in SiC, are discussed in detail. The Ga interstitial is the first and only intrinsic defect in GaN that has so far been unambiguously identified, either in the presumably isolated form or in a family of up to three complexes. The silicon vacancy is among the most studied intrinsic defect in SiC, at least in two charge states, and yet still remains controversial.