High-Quality and Strain-Relaxation GaN Epilayer Grown on SiC Substrates Using AIN Buffer and AlGaN Interlayer

We study the effect of the AlGaN interlayer on structural quality and strain engineering of the GaN films grown on SiC substrates with an AIN buffer layer. Improved structural quality and tensile stress releasing are realized in unintentionally doped GaN thin films grown on 6 H—SiC substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition.Using the optimized AlGaN interlayer, we find that the full width at half maximum of x-ray diffraction peaks for GaN decreases dramatically, indicating an improved crystalline quality. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the biaxial tensile stress in the GaN film is significantly reduced from the Raman results. Photoluminescence spectra exhibit a shift of the peak position of the near-band-edge emission, as well as the integrated intensity ratio variation of the near-band-edge emission to the yellow luminescence band. Thus by optimizing the AlGaN interlayer,we could acquire the high-quality and strain-relaxation GaN epilayer with large thickness on SiC substrates.     

Monolithic semi-polar(1■01) InGaN/GaN near white light-emitting diodes on micro-striped Si(100) substrate

The epitaxial growth of novel GaN-based light-emitting diode(LED) on Si(100) substrate has proved challenging.Here in this work, we investigate a monolithic phosphor-free semi-polar InGaN/GaN near white light-emitting diode, which is formed on a micro-striped Si(100) substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. By controlling the size of micro-stripe, InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) with different well widths are grown on semi-polar(1■01)planes. Besides, indium-rich quantum dots are observed in InGaN wells by transmission electron microscopy, which is caused by indium phase separation. Due to the different widths of MQWs and indium phase separation, the indium content changes from the center to the side of the micro-stripe. Various indium content provides the wideband emission. This unique property allows the semipolar InGaN/GaN MQWs to emit wideband light, leading to the near white light emission.     

Indium-Induced Effect on Polarized Electroluminescence from InGaN/GaN MQWs Light Emitting Diodes

Polarization-resolved edge-emitting electroluminescence （EL） studies of In GaN/GaN MQWs of wavelengths from near-UV （390nm） to blue （468nm） light-emitting diodes （LEDs） are performed. Although the TE mode is dominant in all the samples of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs, an obvious difference of light polarization properties is found in the InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs with different wavelengths. The polarization degree decreases from 52.4% to 26.9% when light wavelength increases. Analyses of band structures of InGaN/GaN quantum wells and luminescence properties of quantum dots imply that quantum-dot-like behavior is the dominant reason for the low luminescence polarization degree of blue LEDs, and the high luminescence polarization degree of UV LEDs mainly comes from QW confinement and the strain effect. Therefore, indium induced carrier confinement （quantum-dot-like behavior） might play a major role in the polarization degree change of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs from near violet to blue.     

Temperature Dependence of Emission Properties of Self-Assembled InGaN Quantum Dots

Emission properties of self-assembled green-emitting InGaN quantum dots （QDs） grown on sapphire substrates by using metal organic chemical vapor deposition are studied by temperature-dependent photoluminescence （PL） measurements. As temperature increases （15-300K）, the PL peak energy shows an anomalous V-shaped （redshift blueshift） variation instead of an S-shaped （redshift-blueshift-redshift） variation, as observed typically in green-emitting InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells （MOWs）. The PL full width at half maximum （FWHM） also shows a V-shaped （decrease-increase） variation. The temperature dependence of the PL peak energy and FWHM of QDs are well explained by a model similar to MOWs, in which carriers transferring in localized states play an important role, while the confinement energy of localized states in the QDs is significantly larger than that in MOWs. By analyzing the integrated PL intensity, the larger confinement energy of localized states in the QDs is estimated to be 105.9meV, which is well explained by taking into account the band-gap shrinkage and carrier thermalization with temperature. It is also found that the nonradiative combination centers in QD samples are much less than those in QW samples with the same In content.     

Evaluation of polarization field in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures by using electroluminescence spectra shift

In order to investigate the inherent polarization intensity in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) structures,the electroluminescence(EL) spectra of three samples with different GaN barrier thicknesses of 21.3 nm, 11.4 nm, and 6.5 nm are experimentally studied. All of the EL spectra present a similar blue-shift under the low-level current injection,and then turns to a red-shift tendency when the current increases to a specific value, which is defined as the turning point.The value of this turning point differs from one another for the three InGaN/GaN MQW samples. Sample A, which has the GaN barrier thickness of 21.3 nm, shows the highest current injection level at the turning point as well as the largest value of blue-shift. It indicates that sample A has the maximum intensity of the polarization field. The red-shift of the EL spectra results from the vertical electron leakage in InGaN/GaN MQWs and the corresponding self-heating effect under the high-level current injection. As a result, it is an effective approach to evaluate the polarization field in the InGaN/GaN MQW structures by using the injection current level at the turning point and the blue-shift of the EL spectra profiles.     

Barrier Enhancement Effect of Postannealing in Oxygen Ambient on Ni/AIGaN Schottky Contacts

Al0.2 Ga0.8N/GaN samples are grown by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition （MOCVD） method on （0001） sapphire substrates. A 10nm-thick Ni layer is deposited on AlGaN as the transparent Schottky contact. The effect of postannealing in oxygen ambient on the electrical properties of Ni/AlGaN is studied by current-voltage- temperature （I-V-T） measurement. The annealing at a relatively low temperature of 300℃ for 90 s results in a decrease of the ideality factor from 2.03 to 1.30 and an increase of the Schottky barrier height from 0.77eV to 0.954 e V. The I-V-T analysis confirms the improvement originated from the formation of NiO, a layer with higher resistance, which could passivate the surface states of AlGaN and suppress the tunnelling current. Furthermore, the annealing also leads to an increase of the transmittance of the contacts from 57.5% to 78.2%, which would be favourable for A1GaN-based photodetectors.     

Effects of InGaN barriers with low indium content on internal quantum efficiency of blue InGaN multiple quantum wells

Blue In_0.2Ga_0.8N multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with In_xGa_{1 - x}N (x=0.01-0.04) barriers are grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy. The internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) of these MQWs are studied in a way of temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra. Furthermore, a 2-channel Arrhenius model is used to analyse the nonradiative recombination centres (NRCs). It is found that by adopting the InGaN barrier beneath the lowest well, it is possible to reduce the strain hence the NRCs in InGaN MQWs. By optimizing the thickness and the indium content of the InGaN barriers, the IQEs of InGaN/InGaN MQWs can be increased by about 2.5 times compared with conventional InGaN/GaN MQWs. On the other hand, the incorporation of indium atoms into the intermediate barriers between adjacent wells does not improve IQE obviously. In addition, the indium content of the intermediate barriers should match with that of the lowest barrier to avoid relaxation.     

Study on the relationships between Raman shifts and temperature range for α-plane GaN using temperature-dependent Raman scattering

In this paper,Raman shifts of a-plane GaN layers grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition(LPMOCVD) are investigated.We compare the crystal qualities and study the relationships between Raman shift and temperature for conventional a-plane GaN epilayer and insertion AlN/AlGaN superlattice layers for a-plane GaN epilayer using temperature-dependent Raman scattering in a temperature range from 83 K to 503 K.The temperature-dependences of GaN phonon modes(A1(TO),E2(high),and E1(TO)) and the linewidths of E2(high) phonon peak are studied.The results indicate that there exist two mechanisms between phonon peaks in the whole temperature range,and the relationship can be fitted to the pseudo-Voigt function.From analytic results we find a critical temperature existing in the relationship,which can characterize the anharmonic effects of a-plane GaN in different temperature ranges.In the range of higher temperature,the relationship exhibits an approximately linear behavior,which is consistent with the analyzed results theoretically.     

Enhanced Photoluminescence of InGaN/GaN Green Light-Emitting Diodes Grown on Patterned Sapphire Substrate

Green InGaN/GaN based light-emitting diodes （LEDs） are fabricated both on planar and wet-etched patterned sapphire substrates by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy （MOVPE）. Their photoluminescence （PL） properties of the two samples are studied. The results indicate that the PL integral intensity of the green LED on the patterned substrate is nearly two times of that on the planar one within the whole measured temperature range. The enhanced PL intensity in the green LED on the patterned substrate is shown completely contributed from the extraction efficiency, but not from the internal quantum efficiency. The conclusion is supported by temperature-dependent PL analysis on the two samples, and the mechanisms axe discussed.     

Study of depth-dependent tetragonal distortion of quaternary AIInGaN epilayer by Rutherford backscattering/channeling

<正>A 240-nm thick Al_0.4In_0.02Ga_0.58N layer is grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition,with an over 1-μm thick GaN layer used as a buffer layer on a substrate of sapphire（0001）.Rutherford backscattering and channeling are used to characterize the microstructure of AlInGaN.The results show a good crystalline quality of AlInGaN(x_min= 1.5%) with GaN buffer layer.The channeling angular scan around an off-normal（1213） axis in the {1010} plane of the AlInGaN layer is used to determine tetragonal distortion e_T,which is caused by the elastic strain in the AlInGaN.The resulting AlInGaN is subjected to an elastic strain at interfacial layer,and the strain decreases gradually towards the near-surface layer.It is expected that an epitaxial AlInGaN thin film with a thickness of 850 nm will be fully relaxed （e_T=0）.     

High-efficiency InGaN/AlInGaN multiple quantum wells with lattice-matched AlInGaN superlattices barrier

A new approach to fabricating high-quality AlInGaN film as a lattice-matched barrier layer in multiple quantum wells(MQWs) is presented. The high-quality AlInGaN film is realized by growing the AlGaN/InGaN short period superlattices through metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and then being used as a barrier in the MQWs. The crystalline quality of the MQWs with the lattice-matched AlInGaN barrier and that of the conventional InGaN/GaN MQWs are characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The photoluminescence(PL) properties of the InGaN/AlInGa N MQWs are investigated by varying the excitation power density and temperature through comparing with those of the InGaN/GaN MQWs. The integral PL intensity of InGaN/AlInGaN MQWs is over 3 times higher than that of InGaN/GaN MQWs at room temperature under the highest excitation power. Temperature-dependent PL further demonstrates that the internal quantum efficiency of InGaN/AlInGaN MQWs(76.1%) is much higher than that of InGaN/GaN MQWs(21%).The improved luminescence performance of InGaN/AlInGaN MQWs can be attributed to the distinct reduction of the barrier-well lattice mismatch and the strain-induced non-radiative recombination centers.     

Performance Improvement of GaN-Based Violet Laser Diodes

The influences of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) and AlGaN electron-blocking layers(EBL) on the performance of GaN-based violet laser diodes are investigated. Compared with the InGaN/GaN MQWs grown at two different temperatures, the same-temperature growth of InGaN well and GaN barrier layers has a positive effect on the threshold current and slope efficiency of laser diodes, indicating that the quality of MQWs is improved. In addition, the performance of GaN laser diodes could be further improved by increasing Al content in the AlGaN EBL due to the fact that the electron leakage current could be reduced by properly increasing the barrier height of AlGaN EBL. The violet laser diode with a peak output power of 20 W is obtained.     

GaN基激光器多量子阱垒材料的研究

在(0001)蓝宝石衬底上分别用金属有机化学气相沉积技术外延生长了InGaN/GaN, InGaN/InGaN, InGaN/AlInGaN多量子阱激光器结构, 并分别制作了脊形波导GaN基激光器。同步辐射X射线衍射,电注入受激发射光谱测试及光功率-电流(L-I)测试证明,相对于GaN垒材料,InGaN垒材料,AlInGaN四元合金垒材料更能改善多量子阱的晶体质量,提高量子阱的量子效率及降低激光器阈值电流。相关的机制为：组分调节合适的四元合金垒层中Al的掺入使得量子阱势垒高度增加,阱区收集载流子的能力增强;In的掺入能更多地补偿应力,减少了由于缺陷和位错所产生的非辐射复合中心密度;In的掺入还减小了量子阱中应力引致的压电场,电子空穴波函数空间交叠得以加强,使得辐射复合增加。     

高效InGaN/AlInGaN发光二极管的结构设计及其理论研究

利用Advanced Physical Models of Semiconductor Devices (APSYS)理论对比研究了InGaN/AlInGaN 和 InGaN/GaN多量子阱作为有源层的InGaN基发光二极管的结构和电学特性。与InGaN/GaN 基LED 中GaN作为垒层材料相比,在AlInGaN材料体系中,通过调节AlInGaN中Al和In的组分可以优化器件的性能。当InGaN阱层材料中In组分为8%时,可以实现无应力的In_0.08Ga_0.92N/AlInGaN基 LED。在这种无应力结构中可以进一步降低大功率LED的"效率下降"(Effciency droop)问题。理论模拟结果显示,四元系AlInGaN作为垒层可以进一步减少载流子泄露,增加空穴注入效率,减少极化场对器件性能的影响。在In_0.08Ga_0.92N /AlInGaN量子阱中的载流子浓度、有源层的辐射复合率、电流特性曲线和内量子效率等方面都优于InGaN/GaN基LED。无应变AlInGaN垒层代替传统的GaN垒层后,能够得到高效的发光二极管,并且大电流注入下的"效率滚降"问题得到改善。     

局域表面等离激元对InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光效率的影响

Ag纳米粒子的形貌对InGaN/Ga N多量子阱(MQWs)的光致发光(PL)效率有着显著影响。本文采用离子束沉积(IBD)技术将Ag沉积在InGaN/Ga N MQWs上,然后通过快速热退火处理制备Ag纳米粒子。通过改变Ag的沉积时间获得了具有不同Ag纳米粒子形貌的样品。用原子力显微镜对各样品的Ag纳米粒子形貌和尺寸进行了表征,并且测试了吸收谱、室温和变温PL谱及时间分辨光致发光(TRPL)谱。结果表明:随着Ag沉积时间的延长,所得Ag纳米粒子粒径增大,粒子纵横比先增大后减小且吸收谱峰红移。由于不同形貌的Ag纳米粒子在入射光作用下产生的局域表面等离激元(LSPs)与MQWs中激子耦合强度不同,光发射能力也不同,与没有Ag纳米粒子的样品相比,沉积时间为15 s的样品室温PL积分强度被抑制6.74倍,沉积时间为25 s和35 s的样品室温PL积分强度分别增强1.55和1.72倍且峰位发生红移,沉积时间为45 s的样品室温PL积分强度基本没有变化。TRPL与变温PL的测试结果证明,室温PL积分强度的改变是由于LSPs与MQWs中的激子耦合作用引起的。纵横比大且吸收谱与MQWs的PL谱交叠大的Ag纳米粒子能够更好地增强InGaN/Ga N MQWs的发光。     

Comprehensive study of blue and green multi-quantum-well light-emitting diodes grown on conventional and lateral epitaxial overgrowth GaN

Growths of blue and green multi-quantum wells (MQWs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are realized on lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) GaN, and compared with identical structures grown on conventional GaN. Atomic force microscopy is used to confirm the significant reduction of dislocations in the wing region of our LEO samples before active-region growth. Differences between surface morphologies of blue and green MQWs are analyzed. These MQWs are integrated into LEDs. All devices show a blue shift in the electroluminescence (EL) peak and narrowing in EL spectra with increasing injection current, both characteristics attributed to the band-gap renormalization. Green LEDs show a larger EL peak shift and a broader EL spectrum due to larger piezoelectric field and more indium segregation in the MQWs, respectively. Blue LEDs on LEO GaN show a higher performance than those on conventional GaN; however, no performance difference is observed for green LEDs on LEO GaN versus conventional GaN. The performance of the green LEDs is shown to be primarily limited by the active layer growth quality.     

Performance improvement of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well visible-light photodiodes by optimizing TEGa flow

The performance of an InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) based visible-light Schottky photodiode(PD)is improved by optimizing the source flow of TEGa during In Ga N QW growth. The samples with five-pair InGaN/GaN MQWs are grown on sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. From the fabricated Schottky-barrier PDs, it is found that the smaller the TEGa flow, the lower the reverse-bias leakage is. The photocurrent can also be enhanced by depositing the In GaN QWs with using lower TEGa flow. A high responsivity of 1.94 A/W is obtained at 470 nm and -3-V bias in the PD grown with optimized TEGa flow. Analysis results show that the lower TEGa flow used for depositing In Ga N may lead to superior crystalline quality with improved InGaN/GaN interface, and less structural defects related non-radiative recombination centers formed in the MQWs.     

蓝光激光器结构中InGaN/GaN多量子阱界面效应的精细光致发光光谱研究

金属有机化学气相沉积（MOCVD）方法制备InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构时,在GaN势垒层生长的N₂载气中引入适量H₂,能够有效改善阱/垒界面质量从而提升发光效率。本工作利用光致发光（PL）光谱技术,对蓝光激光器结构中的InGaN/GaN多量子阱的发光性能进行了精细的光谱学测量与表征,研究了通H₂生长对量子阱界面的调控效应及其发光效率提升的物理机制。室温PL光谱结果显示,GaN势垒层生长载气中引入2.5%的H₂使InGaN/GaN多量子阱的发光效率提升了75%、发光峰的峰位蓝移了17 meV、半峰宽（FWHM）减小了10 meV。通过功率依赖的PL光谱特征分析,我们对InGaN/GaN量子阱中的量子限制Stark效应（QCSE）和能带填充（Band Filling）效应进行了清晰的辨析,发现了发光峰峰位和峰宽的光谱特征主要受QCSE效应影响,H₂的引入能够大幅度降低QCSE效应,并且确定了QCSE效应被完全屏蔽情况下的发光峰能量为2.75 eV。温度依赖的PL光谱数据揭示了通H₂生长量子阱结构中显著减弱的载流子局域化行为,显示界面质量提高有效降低了限制势垒的能量波动,从而导致更窄的发光峰半峰宽。PL光谱强度随温度的变化规律表明,通H₂生长并不改变量子阱界面处的非辐射复合中心的物理本质,却能够显著减少非辐射复合中心的密度,有助于提升量子阱的发光效率。通过时间分辨PL光谱分析,发现通H₂生长会导致量子阱结构中更短的载流子辐射复合寿命,但不影响非辐射复合寿命。载流子复合寿命的变化特征进一步确认了通H₂生长对量子阱结构中QCSE效应和非辐射复合中心的影响规律。综合所有PL光谱分析结果,我们发现通H₂生长能够提高InGaN/GaN多量子阱的界面质量、显著减弱应力效应（更弱的QCSE效应）、降低限制势垒的能量波动以及减少界面处非辐射复合中心的密度,从而显著提升量子阱的发光效率。该研究工作充分显示了PL光谱技术对半导体量子结构发光性能的精细表征能力,光谱分析结果能够为InGaN/GaN多量子阱生长提供有价值的参考。     

Influence of pressure on the properties of GaN/AlN multi-quantum wells – Ab initio study

Pressure dependence of physical properties of GaN/AlN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) was investigated using ab intio calculations. The influence of pressure was divided into two main contributions: pressure affecting the properties of GaN and AlN bulk semiconductors and an influence on systems of polar quantum wells deposited on various substrates. An influence of hydrostatic, uniaxial, and tetragonal strain on the crystallographic structure, polarization (piezoelectricity), and the bandgap of the bulk systems is assessed using ab initio calculations. It was shown that when a partial relaxation of the structure is assumed, the tetragonal strain may explain an experimentally observed reduction of pressure coefficients for polar GaN/AlN MQWs. The MQWs were also simulated directly using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A comparison of these two approaches confirmed that nonlinear effects induced by the tetragonal strain related to lattice mismatch between the substrates and the polar MQWs systems are responsible for a drastic decrease of the pressure coefficients of photoluminescence (PL) energy experimentally observed in polar GaN/AlGaN MQWs.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations of optical properties of GaN/AlGaN MQW nanostructures. Impact of built-in polarization fields

We report the results from detailed optical spectroscopy from MOCVD grown GaN/AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs), as opposed to most previous studies where MBE was employed by means of photoluminescence (PL) technique. In this paper we will present theoretical and experimental results demonstrating how polarization induced electric fields and bound interface charges in GaN/AlGaN MQWs affect the emission peak energy, PL line shape, as well as the emission line width. Theoretically estimated fields in this work are consistent with experimental data. Transition energy of the heavy hole and electron ground state Ee-hh in GaN/AlGaN MQWs were calculated and it is found that it stays in good agreement with the experimental data.