成核层温度对非掺杂GaN外延薄膜结晶质量的影响

利用金属有机化学气相沉积系统(MOCVD),在蓝宝石的(0001)面采用不同的成核层生长温度,通过两步法获得不同质量的GaN外延薄膜.利用HALL测试仪,高分辨X射线衍射仪(HRXRD),原子力显微镜(AFM)和光致发光光谱仪(PL)对GaN薄膜的表面形貌,位错密度,光学性能等进行表征,研究不同的成核温度对GaN外延薄膜晶体质量的影响.结果表明,在成核层生长温度为650℃时,所得到的GaN外延薄膜表面粗糙度和位错密度均达到最低,并且同时具有最高的带边发光峰强度,最高的载流子迁移率以及最低的载流子浓度.过低或过高的成核温度都会导致GaN外延层的晶体质量和光电性能变差.     

裂纹对Si衬底GaN基LED薄膜应力状态的影响

本文通过XRD和PL等分析方法研究了在Si衬底生长的GaN基LED外延薄膜n型GaN层和InGaN阱层的应力状态,以及裂纹对其应力状态的影响.XRD结果表明:在Si衬底生长的GaN基LED外延薄膜n型GaN层受到张应力,在受到一定的外加应力后会以裂纹及裂纹增生的方式释放.随着裂纹数量的增加,n型GaN层受到的张应力逐渐减小,但仍处于张应力状态;n型GaN层张应力的减小使得InGaN阱层受到的压应力增大.PL分析进一步表明:InGaN阱层受到的压应力增大使得量子限制Stark效应更加明显,禁带宽度减小,发光波长表现为红移.     

多孔GaN薄膜的制备与光学性能研究

将表面沉积有金纳米颗粒的GaN薄膜在H₂与N₂的混合气氛下进行高温退火,成功制备了多孔GaN薄膜。多孔GaN薄膜的表面形貌可通过退火温度、退火时间及金沉积时间等参数进行调控。利用高分辨X射线衍射(HRXRD)和拉曼光谱表征了不同GaN结构的晶体质量,与平面GaN薄膜相比,多孔GaN薄膜的位错密度和残余应力均有所降低,在退火温度为1 000℃时其位错密度最小,应力的释放程度较大。采用光致发光(PL)光谱表征了其光学性质,与平面GaN薄膜相比,多孔GaN薄膜的发光强度显著提高,这可归因于多孔结构的孔隙率增大,有效增加了光的散射能力。此外,通过电化学工作站测试了不同GaN结构的光电流密度,结果表明,具有更大比表面积的多孔GaN薄膜在作为工作电极时,光电流密度是平面GaN薄膜的2.67倍。本文通过高温刻蚀手段成功制备了多孔GaN薄膜,为GaN外延层晶体质量与光学性能的提升及在光电催化等领域中的应用提供了一定的理论指导。     

金属有机物气相外延生长InAlGaN薄膜及其性能表征

在不同的生长温度和载气的条件下,采用低压金属有机物气相外延方法生长了系列的InAlGaN薄膜,通过能量色散谱(EDS),高分辨X射线衍射(HRXRD)和光致发光谱(PL)对样品进行表征与分析,研究了生长工艺对InAlGaN外延层结构和光学性能的影响.发现当以氮气做载气时,样品的发光很弱并且在550nm附近存在一个很宽的深能级发光峰;当采用氮气和氢气的混合气做载气时,样品中的深能级发光峰消失且发光强度明显提高.以混合气做载气,InAlGaN薄膜中铟的组分随生长温度的升高而降低,而薄膜的结构和光学性能却提高.结合PL和HRXRD的测试结果得到了较佳的生长参数:即载气为氢气和氮气的混合气以及生长温度在850℃到870℃.     

激发功率密度和阱层厚度对极化InGaN/GaN多量子阱光致发光性能的影响

用MOCVD技术在c面蓝宝石衬底上生长了具有不同阱层厚度的InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构,研究了阱层厚度和激发功率密度对多量子阱光致发光(PL)性能的影响.结果表明,随着激发功率密度的增加,PL的峰值波长会出现不同程度的蓝移,且阱层越厚,蓝移的越明显.PL的峰值波长随着激发功率密度和阱厚的变化关系可以用光生载流子对极化场的屏蔽效应和带隙填充效应来解释.阱最薄的样品(1.8 nm)由于其极化效应最弱,电致发光谱具有最高的发光强度,但其发光波长较短仅有430 nm.     

金属有机物气相外延生长InAIGaN薄膜及其性能表征

在不同的生长温度和载气的条件下，采用低压金属有机物气相外延方法生长了系列的InAlGaN薄膜，通过能量色散谱(EDS)，高分辨X射线衍射(mixRD)和光致发光谱(PL)对样品进行表征与分析，研究了生长工艺对InAlGaN外延层结构和光学性能的影响。发现当以氮气做载气时，样品的发光很弱并且在550nto附近存在一个很宽的深能级发光峰；当采用氮气和氢气的混合气做载气时，样品中的深能级发光峰消失且发光强度明显提高。以混合气做载气，InAlGaN薄膜中铟的组分随生长温度的升高而降低，而薄膜的结构和光学性能却提高。结合PL和HRXRD的测试结果得到了较佳的生长参数：即载气为氢气和氮气的混合气以及生长温度在850℃到870℃。     

R面、C面蓝宝石上生长的InGaN多层量子点的发光性质研究

采用表面钝化和MOCVD低温生长在蓝宝石(0001)面(即C面)和蓝宝石(1102)面(即R面)上形成了InGaN量子点,并构成了该量子点的多层结构.原子力显微镜测试的结果表明单层InGaN量子点平均宽约40nm,高约15nm;而多层量子点上层的量子点则比单层的InGaN量子点大.R面蓝宝石衬底上生长的InGaN量子点和C面蓝宝石衬底上生长的InGaN量子点相比,其PL谱不仅强度高,而且没有多峰结构.这是由于在C面蓝宝石衬底上生长的InGaN/GaN多层量子点沿生长方向[0001]存在较强的内建电场,而在R面蓝宝石衬底上得到的多层量子点沿着生长方向[1120]没有内建电场.InGaN量子点变温光致发光(PL)谱研究发现量子点相关的峰有快速红移现象,这是量子点系统所特有的PL谱特征.用在R面蓝宝石上生长的InGaN量子点作有源层有望避免内建电场的影响,得到高量子效率且发光波长稳定的发光器件.     

MOCVD法在蓝宝石衬底上生长GaN薄膜的性能研究

本文采用MOCVD法分别在a面和c面蓝宝石衬底上生长出7层InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构的GaN薄膜,采用X射线衍射(XRD)、拉曼光谱仪、吸收光谱等手段对样品进行表征.分析表明:a面蓝宝石衬底上生长的GaN薄膜(样品A)的FWHM为781.2 arcsec,c面蓝宝石衬底上生长的GaN薄膜(样品B)的FWHM为979.2 arcsec.样品A和样品B中存在的压应力分别为0.8523 GPa和1.2714 GPa,薄膜的能带宽度(理论值为3.4 eV)分别为3.38 eV和3.37 eV.以上数据表明a面蓝宝石衬底上生长出来GaN薄膜的结晶质量较好,光学性能更优异.     

GaSb/GaAs异质结热光伏电池材料的MBE生长

利用分子束外延方法(MBE)在GaAs (001)衬底上外延生长了GaSb薄膜,并对GaSb薄膜进行了高温退火研究,利用高分辨透射电子显微镜(HRTEM)、原子力显微镜(AFM)、Hall效应(Hall Effect)和低温光荧光谱(LTPL)等手段对薄膜的晶体质量、电学性质和光学性质进行了研究.发现直接生长的GaSb膜表面平整,空穴迁移率较高.研究发现30 s、650℃的快速热退火可消除位错等缺陷,显著提高GaSb薄膜的光学质量.     

湿法腐蚀制备蓝宝石图形衬底的研究

利用湿法腐蚀方法,制备出图形化蓝宝石衬底(PSS).在相同的腐蚀时间下,研究腐蚀液温度对腐蚀蓝宝石表面形貌和外延后GaN材料的影响.扫描电镜(SEM)测试结果表明:随着腐蚀液温度的增加,图形的深度增加.腐蚀后图形阵列排布整齐,所有图形都方向一致,这与蓝宝石本身晶体性质有关.腐蚀液温度对外延后GaN的影响也比较大,随着腐蚀液温度的增加,(002)半峰宽逐渐增加,光致发光谱(PL)发光强度逐渐增加.管芯结果表明,LED管芯的光强也逐渐增加.     

Improved quality of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells by a strain relief layer

Different InGaN/GaN multi quantum wells (MQWs) structures were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Samples were investigated by photoluminescence (PL), atom force microscopy (AFM) and double crystal X-ray diffractometry (DCXRD) to character their optical, morphological and crystal properties. By inserting the strain relief layer, the PL intensity was increased more than two times. The surface morphology was improved and the density of V-pits was reduced from 16–18×10⁸ to 6–7×10⁸/cm². Further, the interface abruptness was also improved. We attributed the improvements of the quality of InGaN/GaN MQWs to the relief of strain in the InGaN/GaN MQWs.     

Effects of barrier growth temperature on the properties of InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells

The effects of the growth temperature and ambient of GaN quantum barriers on the characteristics of InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) grown by a thermally pre-cracked ion-supplied metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (TPIS-MOCVD) system were investigated. The improvement of optical, structural properties and surface morphology in the MQWs with increasing the growth temperature of quantum barriers was found. Without a GaN capping layer, there were many pits and the thickness of quantum pair reduced by the thermal etching during the temperature-ramping process. Photoluminescence (PL) peaks showed a blue-shift and double peaks, but relative PL intensity abruptly increased due to the suppression of deep level related defects and smooth surface morphology caused by the increased surface mobility of adatom in the high temperature region. By using a GaN capping layer on the InGaN well layer, the thermal decomposition of the InGaN well layer was suppressed and pits on the surface abruptly reduced. A hydrogen carrier gas for the GaN barrier growth also improved the optical and structural properties of MQWs.     

Influence of the TEGa flow on the optical and structural properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells grown by MOCVD

We have investigated the influence of the TEGa flow on the optical and structural properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with an indium composition around 20%. The samples with five-pairs InGaN/GaN MQWs were grown on sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Photoluminescence spectra at 8 K showed that the MQWs grown with a low amount of TEGa flow gave a strong single peak and a higher emission energy. High-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements showed a deterioration of the InGaN/GaN interfaces in the sample grown with the large TEGa flow. The luminescence thermal quenching characteristics suggested that more structural defects acting as non-radiative recombination centers formed in the MQWs when the TEGa flow increased. The results indicate that decreasing the TEGa flow help to build up a new growth balance during the growth of InGaN wells, leading to less structural defects, more homogeneous indium distribution and the abrupt MQWs interfaces.     

X-ray and cathodoluminescence study on the effect of intentional long time annealing of the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells grown by MOCVD

GaN-based InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) structure having a high-quality epilayer and coherent periodicity was grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. After thermal annealing of InGaN/GaN MQWs, the increase in temperature and annealing time caused the intermixing between the barrier and the wells, which in turn caused a decrease in periodicity on the high-resolution X-ray diffraction patterns. Thereby, we confirmed that the structural performance of InGaN MQWs is successively degrading with increasing thermal annealing temperature. Especially, InGaN MQWs of the sample annealed at 950 °C were profoundly damaged. The cathodoluminescence (CL) measurement indicated that MQWs emission intensity decreases with increasing thermal annealing temperature. Thus, the integrated CL intensity ratio of InGaN MQWs to GaN dramatically decreased while thermal annealing temperatures increased. This result caused the intermixing in MQWs to deteriorate the active layer performance. Furthermore, the peak position of MQWs showed a tendency of the red shift after high thermal annealing. It is suggested that the annealing-induced red shift in MQWs is attributed to the reduction of the inhomogeneity of the In content in the MQWs leading to the reduction of the quantized energies. Consequently, it indicates that the high temperature and the long-time thermal annealing would be inevitably followed by the structural destruction of InGaN MQWs.     

Influence of Si doping on the optical and structural properties of InGaN films

Influence of Si doping on the optical and structural properties of InGaN epilayers with different Si concentrations was investigated in detail by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL). It was found that a small amount of Si doping in InGaN could enhance luminescence intensity, improve the crystal quality of InGaN and suppress the formation of V-defects in InGaN. Further investigation by CL showed that V-defects act as nonradiative center, which lower the luminescence efficiency of InGaN. Based on above-mentioned results, one possible mechanism of influence of Si doping on the formation of V-defects in InGaN was also proposed in this paper.     

Strain analysis of InGaN/GaN multi quantum well LED structures

Five period InGaN/GaN multi quantum well (MQW) light emitting diode (LED) structures were grown by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system on c‐plane sapphire. The structural characteristics as a strain‐stress analysis of hexagonal epilayers MQWs were determined by using nondestructive high resolution x‐ray diffraction (HRXRD) in detail. The strain/stress analysis in AlN, GaN, and InGaN thin films with a variation of the In molar fraction in the InGaN well layers was conducted based on the precise measurement of the lattice parameters. The a‐ and c‐lattice parameters of the structures were calculated from the peak positions obtained by rocking the theta axis at the vicinity of the symmetric and asymmetric plane reflection angles, followed by the in‐plane and out‐of‐plane strains. The biaxial and hydrostatic components of the strain were extracted from the obtained a‐ and c‐direction strains values.     

MOVPE homoepitaxy of high-quality GaN: Crystal growth and devices

Epitaxial growth on GaN bulk single crystal substrates sets new standards in GaN material quality. The outstanding properties provide insights into fundamental material parameters (e.g. lattice constants, exciton binding energies, etc.) with a precision not obtainable from heteroepitaxial growth on sapphire or SiC. With metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) we realized unstrained GaN layers with dislocation densities about six orders of magnitude lower than in heteroepitaxy. By the use of dry etching techniques for surface preparation, an important improvement of crystal quality is achieved. Those layers reveal an exceptional optical quality as determined by a reduction of the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) linewidth from 5 meV to 0.1 meV and a reduced X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curve width from 400 to 20 arcsec. As a consequence of the narrow PL linewidths, new features as, e. g. a fivefold fine structure of the donor-bound exciton line at 3.471 eV was detected. Additionally, all three free excitons as well as their excited states are visible in PL at 2 K.

Dry etching techniques for surface preparation allow morphologies of the layers suitable for device applications. We report on InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well (MQW)_ structures as well as GaN pn- and InGaN/GaN double heterostructure light emitting diodes (LEDs) on GaN bulk single crystal substrates. Those LEDs are twice as bright as their counterparts grown on sapphire. In addition they reveal an improved high power characteristics, which is attributed to an enhanced crystal quality and an increased p-doping.     

Influence of AlGaN/GaN/InGaN superlattice on the characteristics of LEDs grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

This study examined the influence of strain-compensated triple AlGaN/GaN/InGaN superlattice structures (SLs) in n-GaN on the structural, electrical and optical characteristics of LEDs by analyzing the etch pits density (EPD), stress measurement, high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), sheet resistance, photoluminescence (PL) and light–current–voltage (L–I–V). EPD, stress measurement and HRXRD studies showed that the insertion of AlGaN/GaN/InGaN SLs during the growth of n-GaN effectively distributed and compensated for the strong compressive stress, and decreased the dislocation density in n-GaN. The operating voltage at 20 mA for the LEDs grown with SLs decreased to 3.18 V from 3.4 V for the LEDs grown without SLs. In addition, a decrease in the spectral blue shift compared to the LEDs grown without SLs was observed in the LEDs grown with the SLs.     

Role of vapor-phase diffusion in selective-area MOVPE of InGaN/GaN MQWs

Selective-area growth (SAG) of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) was performed by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The layers of a blue light-emitting diode (LED), that includes five InGaN quantum wells, were grown on a patterned GaN template on a sapphire substrate. In order to elucidate the contribution of vapor-phase diffusion of group-III precursors to the in-plane modulation of luminescence wavelength, the width of a stripe selective growth area was 60 μm that is sufficiently larger than the typical surface diffusion length, with the mask width varied stepwise between 30 and 240 μm. The distribution of the luminescence wavelength from the MQWs was measured with cathode luminescence (CL) across the stripe growth area. The peak wavelength ranged between 420 and 500 nm. The peak shifted to longer wavelengths and became broader as the measured point approached to the mask edge. Such a shift in the peak wavelength exhibited parabolic profile in the growth area and the wider mask shifted the entire peak positions to longer wavelengths. These trends clearly indicate that the vapor-phase diffusion play a dominant role in the in-plane modulation of the luminescence wavelength in the SA-MOVPE of InGaN MQWs, when the size of a growth area and/or the mask width exceeds approximately 10 μm.