Publications

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We fabricated optically pumped and electrically injected ultraviolet (UV) lasers on reduced-threading-dislocation-density (reduced-TDD) AlGaN templates. The overgrowth of sub-micron-wide mesas in the Al0.32Ga0.68N templates enabled a tenfold reduction in TDD, to (2-3) × 108cm%2. Optical pumping of AlGaN hetero-structures grown on the reduced-TDD templates yielded a low lasing threshold of 34kW/cm2 at 346 nm. Roomtemperature pulsed operation of laser diodes at 353nm was demonstrated, with a threshold of 22.5 kA/cm2. Reduced-TDD templates have been developed across the entire range of AlGaN compositions, presenting a promising approach for extending laser diodes into the deep UV.

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Realization of efficient laser diodes with ultra-violet (UV) emission from ∼260-360 nm would enable many applications including fluorescence-based biological agent detection, sterilization, and portable water purification. While InGaN-based laser diodes are well developed down to ∼370 nm, achieving shorter UV wavelengths requires higher Al-content AlGaN alloys with increasing challenges in achieving p-type doping, strain-management, and low threading-dislocation-density (TDD) AlGaN templates. Given these challenges, few groups have reported AlGaN-based edge-emitting laser diodes (LDs) with emission < 355 nm.[1, 2] Most recently, random lasing via Anderson localization in AlGaN nanowire structures has demonstrated a novel approach to realizing deep-UV laser diodes.[3]

Epitaxial (111) MgO films were prepared on (0001) AlxGa1-xN via molecular-beam epitaxy for x=0 to x=0.67. Valence band offsets of MgO to AlxGa1-xN were measured using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as 1.65±0.07eV, 1.36±0.05eV, and 1.05±0.09eV for x=0, 0.28, and 0.67, respectively. This yielded conduction band offsets of 2.75eV, 2.39eV, and 1.63eV for x=0, 0.28, and 0.67, respectively. All band offsets measured between MgO and AlxGa1-xN provide a>1eV barrier height to the semiconductor.

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The growth temperature dependence of Si doping efficiency and deep level defect formation was investigated for n-type Al0.7Ga0.3N. It was observed that dopant compensation was greatly reduced with reduced growth temperature. Deep level optical spectroscopy and lighted capacitance-voltage were used to understand the role of acceptor-like deep level defects on doping efficiency. Deep level defects were observed at 2.34 eV, 3.56 eV, and 4.74 eV below the conduction band minimum. The latter two deep levels were identified as the major compensators because the reduction in their concentrations at reduced growth temperature correlated closely with the concomitant increase in free electron concentration. Possible mechanisms for the strong growth temperature dependence of deep level formation are considered, including thermodynamically driven compensating defect formation that can arise for a semiconductor with very large band gap energy, such as Al0.7Ga0.3N.

The influence of a dilute InxGa1-xN (x ∼ 0.03) underlayer (UL) grown below a single In0.16Ga0.84N quantum well (SQW), within a light-emitting diode (LED), on the radiative efficiency and deep level defect properties was studied using differential carrier lifetime (DCL) measurements and deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS). DCL measurements found that inclusion of the UL significantly improved LED radiative efficiency. At low current densities, the non-radiative recombination rate of the LED with an UL was found to be 3.9 times lower than the LED without an UL, while the radiative recombination rates were nearly identical. This suggests that the improved radiative efficiency resulted from reduced non-radiative defect concentration within the SQW. DLOS measurement found the same type of defects in the InGaN SQWs with and without ULs. However, lighted capacitance-voltage measurements of the LEDs revealed a 3.4 times reduction in a SQW-related near-mid-gap defect state for the LED with an UL. Quantitative agreement in the reduction of both the non-radiative recombination rate (3.9×) and deep level density (3.4×) upon insertion of an UL corroborates deep level defect reduction as the mechanism for improved LED efficiency.

Low p-type conductivity and high contact resistance remain a critical problem in wide band gap AlGaN-based ultraviolet light emitters due to the high acceptor ionization energy. In this work, interband tunneling is demonstrated for non-equilibrium injection of holes through the use of ultra-thin polarization-engineered layers that enhance tunneling probability by several orders of magnitude over a PN homojunction. Al0.3Ga0.7N interband tunnel junctions with a low resistance of 5.6 × 10-4 Ω cm2 were obtained and integrated on ultraviolet light emitting diodes. Tunnel injection of holes was used to realize GaN-free ultraviolet light emitters with bottom and top n-type Al0.3Ga0.7N contacts. At an emission wavelength of 327 nm, stable output power of 6 W/cm2 at a current density of 120 A/cm2 with a forward voltage of 5.9 V was achieved. This demonstration of efficient interband tunneling could enable device designs for higher efficiency ultraviolet emitters.

Current-voltage (IV) characteristics of two AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with differing densities of open-core threading dislocations (nanopipes) are analyzed. A three-diode circuit is simulated to emulate the forward-bias IV characteristics of the DUV-LEDs, but is only able to accurately model the lower leakage current, lower nanopipe density DUV-LED. It was found that current leakage through the nanopipes in these structures is rectifying, despite nanopipes being previously established as inherently n-type. Using defect-sensitive etching, the nanopipes are revealed to terminate within the p-type GaN capping layer of the DUV-LEDs. The circuit model is modified to account for another p-n junction between the n-type nanopipes and the p-type GaN, and an excellent fit to the forward-bias IV characteristics of the leaky DUV-LED is achieved.

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Deep-level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) and photoluminescence (PL) were used to understand the role of defects in reducing the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) as the emission wavelength increased from approximately 450 to 530 nm, i.e., the "green gap". DLOS studies of light emitting diodes (LEDs) identified QW defects whose concentration increased significantly with increasing x. The effect of increased QW defect density on IQE was assessed by examining the PL of MQW samples. Green-emitting MQWs had lower IQE and required higher pump power to reach peak IQE, corroborating the important impact of enhanced non-radiative recombination at defects. © 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.