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 thick-nesses are studied by means of high resolution X-ray diffraction （HRXRD）, a cross-sectional transmission electron mi-croscope （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 periodic- ity 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 po- tentials 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.

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.

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.

Flexible,stretchable,and transparent InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells/polyacrylamide hydrogel-based light emitting diodes

Visualization is a direct,efficient,and simple interface method to realize the interaction between human and machine,whereas the flexible display unit,as the major bottleneck,still deeply hinders the advances of wearable and virtual reality devices.To obtain flexible optoelectronic devices,one of the effective methods is to transfer a high-efficient and long-lifetime inorganic optoelectronic film from its rigid epitaxial substrate to a foreign flexible/soft substrate.Additionally,piezo-phototronic effect is a fundamental theory for guiding the design of flexible optoelectronic devices.Herein,we demonstrate a flexible,stretchable,and transparent InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs)/polyacrylamide(PAAM)hydrogel-based light emitting diode coupling with the piezo-phototronic effect.The quantum well energy band and integrated luminous intensity(increased by more than 31.3%)are significantly modulated by external mechanical stimuli in the device.Benefiting from the small Young's modulus of hydrogel and weak Van der Waals force,the composite film can endure an extreme tensile condition of about 21.1%stretching with negligible tensile strains transmitted to the InGaN/GaN MQWs.And the stable photoluminescence characteristics can be observed.Moreover,the hydrogen-bond adsorption and excellent transparency of the hydrogel substrate greatly facilitate the packaging and luminescence of the optoelectronic device.And thus,such a novel integration scheme of inorganic semiconductor materials and organic hydrogel materials would help to guide the robust stretchable optoelectronic devices,and show great potential in emerging wearable devices and virtual reality applications.

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.

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 （Voc） of the device are 0.7 mA/cm2, 0.40 and 2.22 V, respectively. The results exhibit a significant enhancement of Voc compared with those of InGaN-based hetero and homojunction cells. This enhancement indicates that the InGaN/GaN MQWSC offers an effective way for increasing Voc of an In-rich InxGal-~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.

Epitaxial evolution on buried cracks in a strain-controlled AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer between AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells and a GaN template

Epitaxial evolution of buried cracks in a strain-controlled AIN/GaN superlattice interlayer （IL） grown on GaN tem- plate, resulting in crack-free AIGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells （MQW）, was investigated. The processes of filling the buried cracks include crack formation in the IL, coalescence from both side walls of the crack, build-up of an MQW-layer hump above the cracks, lateral expansion and merging with the surrounding MQW, and two-dimensional step flow growth. It was confirmed that the filling content in the buried cracks is pure GaN, originating from the deposition of the GaN thin layer directly after the IL. Migration of Ga adatoms into the cracks plays a key role in the filling the buried cracks.

Carrier Dynamics Determined by Carrier-Phonon Coupling in InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Well Blue Light Emitting Diodes

Phonon sidebands in the electrolumiescence(EL) spectra of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well blue light emitting diodes are investigated. S-shaped injection current dependence of the energy spacing(ES) between the zero-phonon and first-order phonon-assisted luminescence lines is observed in a temperature range of 100–150 K.The S-shape is suppressed with increasing temperature from 100 to 150 K, and vanishes at temperature above200 K. The S-shaped injection dependence of ES at low temperatures could be explained by the three stages of carrier dynamics related to localization states:(i) carrier relaxation from shallow into deep localization states,(ii) band filling of shallow and deep localization states, and(iii) carrier overflow from deep to shallow localization states and to higher energy states. The three stages show strong temperature dependence. It is proposed that the fast change of the carrier lifetime with temperature is responsible for the suppression of S-shaped feature.The proposed mechanisms reveal carrier recombination dynamics in the EL of InGaN/GaN MQWs at various injection current densities and temperatures.

Fabrication and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diodes with amorphous BaTiO_3 ferroelectric film

BaTiO3 （BTO） ferroelectric thin films are prepared by the sol,el method. The fabrication and the optical properties of an InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diode （LED） with amorphous BTO ferroelectric thin film are studied. The photolumineseence （PL） of the BTO ferroelectric film is attributed to the structure. The ferroeleetric film which annealed at 673 K for 8 h has the better PL property. The peak width is about 30 nm from 580 nm to 610 nm, towards the yellow region. The mixed electroluminescence （EL） spectrum of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well LED with 150-nm thick amorphous BTO ferroelectric thin film displays the blue-white light. The Commission Internationale De L＇Eclairage （CIE） coordinate of EL is （0.2139, 0.1627）. EL wavelength and intensity depends on the composition, microstructure and thickness of the ferroelectric thin film. The transmittance of amorphous BTO thin film is about 93% at a wavelength of 450 nm-470 nm. This means the amorphous ferroelectrie thin films can output more blue-ray and emission lights. In addition, the amorphous ferroelectric thin films can be directly fabricated without a binder and used at higher temperatures （200 ℃-400 ℃）. It is very favourable to simplify the preparation process and reduce the heat dissipation requirements of an LED. This provides a new way to study LEDs.

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.

The exciton-longitudinal-optical-phonon coupling in InGaN/GaN single quantum wells with various cap layer thicknesses

This paper studies the exciton-longitudinal-optical-phonon coupling in InGaN/GaN single quantum wells with various cap layer thicknesses by low temperature photoluminescence （PL） measurements. With increasing cap layer thickness, the PL peak energy shifts to lower energy and the coupling strength between the exciton and longitudinal- optical （LO） phonon, described by Huang-Rhys factor, increases remarkably due to an enhancement of the internal electric field. With increasing excitation intensity, the zero-phonon peak shows a blueshift and the Huang-Rhys factor decreases. These results reveal that there is a large built-in electric field in the well layer and the exciton-LO-phonon coupling is strongly affected by the thickness of the cap layer.

The enhancement of light-emitting efficiency using GaN-based multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes with nanopillar arrays

The quest for higher modulation speed and lower energy consumption has inevitably promoted the rapid development of semiconductor-based solid lighting devices in recent years. GaN-based light-emitting diodes （LEDs） have emerged as promising candidates for achieving high efficiency and high intensity, and have received increasing attention among many researchers in this field. In this paper, we use a self-assembled array-patterned mask to fabricate InGaN/GaN multi- quantum well （MQW） LEDs with the intention of enhancing the light-emitting efficiency. By utilizing inductively coupled plasma etching with a self-assembled Ni cluster as the mask, nanopillar arrays are formed on the surface of the InGaN/GaN MQWs. We then observe the structure of the nanopillars and find that the V-defects on the surface of the conventional structure and the negative effects of threading dislocation are effectively reduced. Simultaneously, we make a comparison of the photoluminescence （PL） spectrum between the conventional structure and the nanopillar arrays, achieved under an experimental set-up with an excitation wavelength of 325 mm. The analysis demonstrates that MQW-LEDs with nanopillar arrays achieve a PL intensity 2.7 times that of conventional LEDs. In response to the PL spectrum, some reasons are proposed for the enhancement in the light-emitting efficiency as follows： 1） the improvement in crystal quality, namely the reduction in V-defects; 2） the roughened surface effect on the expansion of the critical angle and the attenuated total reflection; and 3） the enhancement of the light-extraction efficiency due to forward scattering by surface plasmon polariton modes in Ni particles deposited above the p-type GaN layer at the top of the nanopillars.

A dual-blue light-emitting diode based on strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN quantum wells

A strain-compensated InGaN quantum well（QW） active region employing a tensile AlGaN barrier is analyzed.Its spectral stability and efficiency droop for a dual-blue light-emitting diode（LED） are improved compared with those of the conventional InGaN/GaN QW dual-blue LEDs based on a stacking structure of two In0.18Ga0.82N/GaN QWs and two In0.12Ga0.88N/GaN QWs on the same sapphire substrate.It is found that the optimal performance is achieved when the Al composition of the strain-compensated AlGaN layer is 0.12 in blue QW and 0.21 in blue-violet QW.The improvement performance can be attributed to the strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN QW,which can provide a better carrier confinement and effectively reduce leakage current.

Optimization of a GaN-based irregular multiple quantum well structure for a dichromatic white LED

GaN-based irregular multiple quantum well （IMQW） structures assembled two different types of QWs emitting complementary wavelengths for dichromatic white light-emitting diodes （LEDs） are optimized in order to obtain near white light emissions. The hole distributions and spontaneous emission spectra of the IMQW structures are analysed in detail by fully considering the effects of strain, well-coupling, valence band-mixing and polarization effect through employing a newly developed theoretical model from the k. p theory. Several structure parameters such as well material component, well width, layout of the wells and the thickness of harrier between different types of QWs are employed to analyse how these parameters together with the polarization effect influence the electronic and the optical properties of IMQW structure. Numerical results show that uniform hole distributions in different types of QWs are obtained when the number of the QWs emitting blue light is two, the number of the QWs emitting yellow light is one and the barrier between different types of QWs is 8nm in thickness. The near white light emission is realized using GaN-based IMQW structure with appropriate design parameters and injection level.

Efficiency droop alleviation in blue light emitting diodes using the InGaN/GaN triangular-shaped quantum well

The InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diode（LED） is numerically investigated using a triangular-shaped quantum well model,which involves analysis on its energy band,carrier concentration,overlap of electron and hole wave functions,radiative recombination rate,and internal quantum efficiency.The simulation results reveal that the InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diode with triangular quantum wells exhibits a higher radiative recombination rate than the conventional light emitting diode with rectangular quantum wells due to the enhanced overlap of electron and hole wave functions（above 90%） under the polarization field.Consequently,the efficiency droop is only 18% in the light emitting diode with triangular-shaped quantum wells,which is three times lower than that in a conventional LED.

InGaN/GaN量子阱悬空微盘发光二极管

设计并制备了三种不同结构的电泵浦InGaN/GaN量子阱微盘发光器件,对其光增益和光损耗进行了分析和优化。以p型层的结构为分类标准,器件Ⅰ为圆柱形;器件Ⅱ为器件Ⅰ的悬空结构;器件Ⅲ是悬空的圆环形结构。实验和仿真结果表明,三种器件结构中,器件Ⅱ的结果最好。电极布局为内p外n型的圆柱形器件表面电流分布能够保证发光区和微腔高增益区重合,悬空结构能够降低微盘在垂直方向上的光损耗,有利于更好的光学增益。考虑到共振模式,器件Ⅱ在注入电流大于0.7 mA时,器件Ⅱ实现了峰值波长为408.2 nm、半峰宽为2.62 nm的振荡模式输出。这种电泵浦InGaN/GaN量子阱悬浮微盘二极管器件的设计思路对电泵浦微盘或微环激光器的研制具有重要参考意义。

Variation of efficiency droop with quantum well thickness in In GaN/GaN green light-emitting diode

In GaN/GaN multiple quantum well（MQW） green light-emitting diodes（LEDs） with varying In GaN quantum well layer thickness are fabricated and characterized. The investigation of luminescence efficiency versus injection current reveals that several physical mechanisms may jointly influence the efficiency droop, resulting in a non-monotonic variation of droop behavior with increasing quantum well（QW） thickness. When the QW is very thin, the increase of In GaN well layer thickness makes the efficiency droop more serious due to the enhancement of polarization effect. When the QW thickness increases further, however, the droop is alleviated significantly, which is mainly ascribed to the enhanced nonradiative recombination process and the weak delocalization effect.

硅基InGaN/GaN多量子阱微盘器件的发光、探测和数据传输

光源和探测器的集成可有效促进轻量化和小型化光电系统的发展,InGaN/GaN多量子阱器件中发光与探测共存现象为收发一体芯片的设计提供了可能。本文采用标准半导体工艺制备了硅片上集成的圆盘形InGaN/GaN多量子阱阵列器件,并对其发光、探测以及基本通信特性进行了研究。微盘型器件中的共振模式有助于提升其探测特性,同时各向同性的辐射特性有助于器件作为光源时与探测器在空间上的耦合。作为光源,该器件的开启电压为2.5 V,中心波长455 nm,-3 dB带宽为5.4 MHz。作为探测器,该器件对紫外到蓝光波段的光有响应,探测性能随波长增加而减弱,截止波长450 nm。在365 nm光源激发下,该器件具有最高开关比7.2×10^(4),下降沿时间为0.41 ms。同时,基于单个微盘器件,本文构建并演示了半双工通信系统,在不同频段实现数据传输。这项研究对于电驱动光源制备以及收发一体的光通信具有重要意义。

超晶格插入层对InGaN/GaN多量子阱的应变调制作用

在InGaN/GaN异质结构量子阱内存在巨大的压电极化场,这严重地削弱了量子阱的发光效率.为了减弱量子阱内的压电极化场,通常引入应变调制插入层提升器件的发光性能.为了研究InGaN/GaN超晶格的应变调制效果和机理,实验设计制备了具有n型InGaN/GaN超晶格插入层的外延结构及其对照样品.变温光致发光谱测试表明引入n型InGaN/GaN超晶格插入层的样品发光波长更短且内量子效率提升,相应的电致发光谱积分强度也显著增加且半宽减小,说明引入超晶格应变插入层可以在一定程度上抑制影响发光效率的量子限制Stark效应.理论计算结果表明:在生长有源区量子阱前引入超晶格应变层,可以削弱有源区量子阱内极化内建电场,减弱有源区量子阱能带倾斜,增加电子空穴波函数交叠,提高发射几率,缩短辐射复合寿命,有利于辐射复合与非辐射复合的竞争,实现更高的复合效率,从而提高发光强度.本文从实验和理论两方面验证了超晶格应变调制插入层可以有效改善器件性能,为器件的结构设计优化指明方向.

Efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN-based LEDs with a gradually varying In composition in each InGaN well layer

Temperature-dependent and driving current-dependent electroluminescence spectra of two different InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures SA and SB are investigated,with the In composition in each well layer(WL)along the growth direction progressively increasing for SA and progressively decreasing for SB.The results show that SB exhibits an improved efficiency droop compared with SA.This phenomenon can be explained as follows:owing to the difference in growth pattern of the WL between these two samples,the terminal region of the WL in SB contains fewer In atoms than in SA,and therefore the former undergoes less In volatilization than the latter during the waiting period required for warming-up due to the difference in the growth temperature between well and barrier layers.This results in SB having a deeper triangular-shaped potential well in its WL than SA,which strongly confines the carriers to the initial region of the WL to prevent them from leaking to the p-GaN side,thus improving the efficiency droop.Moreover,the improvement in the efficiency droop for SB is also partly attributed to its stronger Coulomb screening effect and carrier localization effect.