InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells with an enhanced open-circuit voltage

In this paper,InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells (MQWSCs) with an In content of 0.15 are fabricated and studied.The short-circuit density,fill factor and open-circuit voltage (V oc) of the device are 0.7 mA/cm 2,0.40 and 2.22 V,respectively.The results exhibit a significant enhancement of V oc compared with those of InGaN-based hetero and homojunction cells.This enhancement indicates that the InGaN/GaN MQWSC offers an effective way for increasing V oc of an In-rich In x Ga 1 x N solar cell.The device exhibits an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 36% (7%) at 388 nm (430 nm).The photovoltaic performance of the device can be improved by optimizing the structure of the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well.     

InGaN/GaN量子阱垒层和阱层厚度对GaN基激光器性能的影响及机理

采用LASTIP软件研究了InGaN/GaN(In组分为15%)量子阱垒层和阱层厚度对GaN基蓝紫光激光器性能的影响及机理. 模拟计算结果表明, 当阱层太薄或太厚时, GaN基激光器的阈值电流增加、输出功率下降, 最优的阱层厚度为4.0 nm左右; 当阱层厚度太薄时, 载流子很容易泄漏, 而当阱层厚度太厚时, 极化效应导致发光效率降低, 研究还发现, 与垒层厚度为7 nm 相比, 垒层厚度为15 nm时激光器的阈值电流更低、输出功率更高, 因此适当地增加垒层厚度能显著抑制载流子泄漏, 从而改善激光器性能.     

Advantages of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells with stepped-thickness quantum wells

InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) solar cells with stepped-thickness quantum wells (SQW) are designed and grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The stepped-thickness quantum wells structure, in which the well thickness becomes smaller and smaller along the growth direction, reveals better crystalline quality and better spectral overlap with the solar spectrum. Consequently, the short-circuit current density (Jsc) and conversion efficiency of the solar cell are enhanced by 27.12% and 56.41% compared with the conventional structure under illumination of AM1.5G (100 mW/cm2). In addition, approaches to further promote the performance of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells are discussed and presented.     

Analysis of localization effect in blue-violet light emitting InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells with different well widths

Four blue-violet light emitting InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) structures with different well widths are grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition. The carrier localization effect in these samples is investigated mainly by temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements. It is found that the localization effect is enhanced as the well width increases from 1.8 nm to 3.6 nm in our experiments. The temperature induced PL peak blueshift and linewidth variation increase with increasing well width, implying that a greater amplitude of potential fluctuation as well as more localization states exist in wider wells. In addition, it is noted that the broadening of the PL spectra always occurs mainly on the low-energy side of the PL spectra due to the temperature-induced band-gap shrinkage, while in the case of the widest well, a large extension of the spectral curve also occurs in the high energy sides due to the existence of more shallow localized centers.     

In组分渐变提高InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光二极管发光性能

利用金属有机物化学气相沉积系统在蓝宝石衬底上通过有源层的变温生长,得到In组分渐变的量子阱结构,从而获得具有三角形能带结构的InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光二极管(LED)(简称三角形量子阱结构LED).变温光致发光谱结果表明,相对于传统具有方形能带结构的量子阱LED(简称方形量子阱结构LED),三角形量子阱结构有效提高了量子阱中电子和空穴波函数的空间交叠,从而增加了LED的内量子效率;电致发光谱结果表明,三角形量子阱结构LED器件与传统结构LED器件相比,明显改善了发光峰值波长随着电流的蓝移现象.通过以上     

Anomalous disorder-related phenomena in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well heterosystems

The influences of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) heterostructures with InGaN/GaN and GaN barriers on carrier confinement were investigated. The degree of disordering over a broad range of temperatures from 20 to 300 K was considered. The optical and electrical properties were strongly influenced by structural and compositional disordering of the InGaN/GaN MQW heterostructures. To compare the degree of disordering we examined the temperature dependence of the luminescence spectra and electrical conductance contingent on the Berthelot-type mechanisms in the InGaN/GaN MQW heterostructures. We further considered carrier transport in the InGaN/GaN disordered systems, probability of carrier tunneling, and activation energy of the transport mechanism for devices with InGaN/GaN and GaN barriers. The optical properties of InGaN/GaN disordered heterosystems can be interpreted from the features of the absorption spectra. The anomalous temperature-dependent characteristics of the disordered InGaN/GaN MQW structures were attributable to the enhancement of the exciton confinement.     

In源流量与Ⅲ族流量之比对InGaN/GaN多量子阱性质的影响

利用x射线三轴晶衍射和光致发光谱研究了生长参数In源流量与Ⅲ族流量之比对InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构缺陷(如位错密度和界面粗糙度)和光致发光的影响.通过对（0002）对称和（1012）非对称联动扫描的每一个卫星峰的ω扫描，分别测量出了多量子阱的螺位错和刃位错平均密度，而界面粗糙度则由（0002）对称衍射的卫星峰半高全宽随级数的变化得出.试验发现多量子阱中的位错密度特别是刃位错密度和界面粗糙度随In源流量与Ⅲ族源流量比值的增加而增加，导致室温下光致发光性质的降低，从而也证明了刃位错在InGaN/GaN 关键词： x射线三轴晶衍射 界面粗糙度 位错 InGaN/GaN多量子阱     

Temperature dependent growth of InGaN/GaN single quantum well

InGaN/GaN single quantum well (SQW) structures under various InGaN growth temperatures have been grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), the surface morphologies and optical properties are investigated. The radius of the typical V-pits on the SQW surface is affected by the InGaN well-temperature, and the surface roughness decreased as the well-temperature reduced. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and cathode luminescence (CL) shows the quantum well and quantum dot (QD)-like localized state light emission of the SQWs grown at 700 and 690 °C, respectively, whereas the samples grown at 670 and 650 °C present hybrid emission peaks. Excitation power dependent PL spectra indicates the QD-like localized state emission dominates at low excitation power and the quantum well emission starts to take over at high excitation power.     

Effects of a prestrained InGaN interlayer on the emission properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells in a laser diode structure

The electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with a prestrained InGaN interlayer in a laser diode structure are investigated. When the injection current increases from 5 mA to 50 mA, the blueshift of the EL emission peak is 1 meV for the prestrained sample and 23 meV for a control sample with the conventional structure. Also, the internal quantum efficiency and the EL intensity at the injection current of 20 mA are increased by 71% and 65% respectively by inserting the prestrained InGaN interlayer. The reduced blueshift and the enhanced emission are attributed mainly to the reduced quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) in the prestrained sample. Such attributions are supported by the theoretical simulation results, which reveal the smaller piezoelectric field and the enhanced overlap of electron and hole wave functions in the prestrained sample. Therefore, the prestrained InGaN interlayer contributes to strain relaxation in the MQW layer and enhancement of light emission due to the reduction of QCSE.     

Influence of barrier thickness on the structural and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

The structural and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) with different barrier thicknesses are studied by means of high resolution X-ray diffraction(HRXRD), a cross-sectional transmission electron microscope(TEM), and temperature-dependent photoluminescence(PL) measurements. HRXRD and cross-sectional TEM measurements show that the interfaces between wells and barriers are abrupt and the entire MQW region has good periodicity for all three samples. As the barrier thickness is increased, the temperature of the turning point from blueshift to redshift of the S-shaped temperature-dependent PL peak energy increases monotonously, which indicates that the localization potentials due to In-rich clusters is deeper. From the Arrhenius plot of the normalized integrated PL intensity, it is found that there are two kinds of nonradiative recombination processes accounting for the thermal quenching of photoluminescence,and the corresponding activation energy(or the localization potential) increases with the increase of the barrier thickness.The dependence on barrier thickness is attributed to the redistribution of In-rich clusters during the growth of barrier layers,i.e., clusters with lower In contents aggregate into clusters with higher In contents.     

Phonon–replica transitions in InGaN/GaN quantum well structures

A side-bump feature in a photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of an InGaN compound was widely observed. With reasonable fitting to PL spectra with three Gaussian distributions, the temperature variations of the peak positions, integrated PL intensities, and peak widths of the main and first side peaks of three InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well samples with different nominal indium contents are shown and interpreted. The existence of the side peaks is attributed to phonon–replica transitions. The variations of the peak position separations and the decreasing trends of the first side peak widths beyond certain temperatures in those samples were explained with the requirement of phonon momentum condition for phonon–replica transitions. In the sample with 25% nominal indium content, the phonon–replica transition could become stronger than the direct transition of localized states.     

InGaN/GaN多量子阱的组分确定和晶格常数计算

采用金属有机化学气相沉积(MOCVD)技术以蓝宝石为衬底在n型GaN单晶层上生长了InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构外延薄膜，利用高分辨X射线衍射(HRXRD)，卢瑟福背散射/沟道(RBS/channeling)，以及光致发光(PL)技术对InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构薄膜分别进行了平均晶格常数计算、In原子替位率计算和In组分的定量分析.研究表明：InGaN/GaN多量子阱的水平和垂直方向平均晶格常数分别为a_epi=0.3195nm，c_epi=0.5198nm，In原子的替位率为99.3%，利用HRXRD和RBS/channeling两种分析技术计算In的组分分别是0.023和0.026，并与样品生长时设定的预期目标相符合，验证了两种实验方法的准确性；而用室温条件下的光致发光谱(PL)来计算InGaN/GaN多量子阱中In的组分是与HRXRD和RBS/channeling的实验结果相差很大，说明用PL测试In组分的方法是不适宜的. 关键词： InGaN/GaN多量子阱 高分辨X射线衍射 卢瑟福背散射/沟道 光致发光     

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.     

Optical properties of InGaN/GaN double quantum wells with varying well thickness

The optical properties and recombination kinetics of the InGaN/GaN double quantum well (DQW) structures with different well thickness (L_w) have been studied by means of photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL, and cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements. With increasing quantum well thickness up to 4 nm, the PL emission energy decreases and the blueshift of the PL emission energy increases with increasing excitation density. On the other hand, the PL emission energy of the DQWs with L_w=16 nm is higher than that of the DQWs with L_w=4 nm, and is independent of the excitation density. With increasing L_w from 1 to 4 nm, the PL decay times increase. In contrast, the decay times of 16 nm DQWs are faster than those of 4 nm DQWs. These different results for 16 nm DQWs such as the blueshift of the emission energy, the decrease of the excitation density dependence, and the increase of recombination rate can be ascribed to the relaxation of the piezoelectric field. We also observed the inhomegeneity in the CL spectra of the DQWs with L_w=1 nm on 1 μm scale.     

Effects of polarization and p-type GaN resistivity on the spectral response of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells

Effects of polarization and p-type GaN resistivity on the spectral response of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) solar cells are investigated. It is found that due to the reduction of piezoelectric polarization and the enhancement of tunneling transport of photo-generated carriers in MQWs, the external quantum efficiency(EQE) of the solar cells increases in a low energy spectral range(λ 370 nm) when the barrier thickness value decreases from 15 nm to 7.5 nm. But the EQE decreases abruptly when the barrier thickness value decreases down to 3.75 nm. The reasons for these experimental results are analyzed. We are aware that the reduction of depletion width in MQW region, caused by the high resistivity of the p-type GaN layer may be the main reason for the abnormally low EQE value at long wavelengths(λ 370 nm).     

Effects of multiple interruptions with trimethylindium-treatment in the InGaN/GaN quantum well on green light emitting diodes

In this study, the influence of multiple interruptions with trimethylindium(TMIn)-treatment in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) on green light-emitting diode(LED) is investigated. A comparison of conventional LEDs with the one fabricated with our method shows that the latter has better optical properties. Photoluminescence(PL) full-width at half maximum(FWHM) is reduced, light output power is much higher and the blue shift of electroluminescence(EL) dominant wavelength becomes smaller with current increasing. These improvements should be attributed to the reduced interface roughness of MQW and more uniformity of indium distribution in MQWs by the interruptions with TMIn-treatment.     

垒掺In提高InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光特性

利用金属有机物化学气相淀积技术在蓝宝石衬底上生长InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构.对多量子阱垒层掺In和非掺In进行了比较研究，结果表明，垒掺In 的样品界面质量变差，但明显增加了光致发光谱的峰值强度和积分强度，带边峰与黄光峰强度之比增大，降低了表面粗糙度.利用这两种结构制备了相应的发光二极管(LED)样品.通过电荧光测量可知，垒掺In的LED比非掺In的LED有较高的发光强度和相对均匀的波长，这主要是由于垒掺In后降低了阱与垒之间晶格失配的应力，从而降低了极化电场，提高了辐射复合效率. 关键词： InGaN/GaN多量子阱 X射线双晶衍射 原子力显微镜 光致发光     

引入n型InGaN/GaN超晶格层提高量子阱特性研究

利用金属有机物化学气相淀积技术在蓝宝石衬底上生长了InGaN/GaN量子阱结构. 研究了引入n型InGaN薄层或InGaN/GaN超晶格层的量子阱特性,结果表明通过引入n型InGaN薄层或InGaN/GaN超晶格层缓解了量子阱有源区中的应力,改善了多量子阱表面形貌,减少了V型缺陷密度,而且提高了多量子阱的光致发光强度,从而也改进了LED的发光效率. 关键词： InGaN/GaN多量子阱 原子力显微镜 X射线双晶衍射 光致发光     

低温近场光学显微术对InGaN/GaN多量子阱电致发光温度特性的研究

使用实验室自制的低温近场光学显微镜研究了InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光二极管在室温和液氮 温度下的近场光学像和近场光谱，发现随着温度的降低，不仅近场光学像的光强起伏大大减 小，量子阱发光峰先蓝移后红移，而且在液氮温度下在光子能量更高的位置上出现了新的发 光峰.通过对实验结果的分析，我们将这个新出现的峰归结为p-GaN层中导带底-受主能级间 跃迁形成. 关键词： InGaN/GaN多量子阱 发光二极管 近场光学 低温     

Effect of low-energy electron irradiation on the cathodoluminescence of multiple quantum well (MQW) InGaN/GaN structures

The effect of low-energy electron-beam (e-beam) irradiation on the InGaN-related cathodoluminescence in multiple quantum well (MQW) InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) structures has been studied. It is shown that the e-beam exposure leads to an increase of emission intensity and to a formation of new blue-shifted emission bands. The changes observed were explained by the enhancement of In diffusion stimulated by excess carrier recombination.