D. J. Rogers

Electroluminescence at 375nm from a ZnO∕GaN:Mg∕c-Al2O3 heterojunction light emitting diode

n-ZnO∕p-GaN:Mg heterojunction light emitting diode (LED) mesas were fabricated on c-Al2O3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition for the ZnO and metal organic chemical vapor deposition for the GaN:Mg. High crystal quality and good surface morphology were confirmed by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) showed an intense main peak at 375nm and a negligibly low green emission indicative of a near band edge excitonic emission from a ZnO layer with low dislocation/defect density. The LEDs showed I-V characteristics confirming a rectifying diode behavior and a RT electroluminescence (EL) peaked at about 375nm. A good correlation between the wavelength maxima for the EL and PL suggests that recombination occurs in the ZnO layer and that it may be excitonic in origin. This also indicates that there is significant hole injection from the GaN:Mg into the ZnO.

Use of ZnO thin films as sacrificial templates for metal organic vapor phase epitaxy and chemical lift-off of GaN

Continued development of GaN-based light emitting diodes is being hampered by constraints imposed by current non-native substrates. ZnO is a promising alternative substrate but it decomposes under the conditions used in conventional GaN metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). In this work, GaN was grown on ZnO/c-Al2O3 using low temperature/pressure MOVPE with N2 as a carrier and dimethylhydrazine as a N source. Characterization confirmed the epitaxial growth of GaN. The GaN was lifted-off the c-Al2O3 by chemically etching away the ZnO underlayer. This approach opens up the way for bonding of the GaN onto a support of choice.

A hybrid green light-emitting diode comprised of n-ZnO/ "InGaN/GaN… multi-quantum-wells/p-GaN

Hybrid green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) comprised of n-ZnO/(InGaN/GaN) multi-quantum-wells/p-GaN were grown on semi-insulating AlN/sapphire using pulsed laser deposition for the n-ZnO and metal organic chemical vapor deposition for the other layers. X-ray diffraction revealed that high crystallographic quality was preserved after the n-ZnO growth. LEDs showed a turn-on voltage of 2.5 V and a room temperature electroluminescence (EL) centered at 510 nm. A blueshift and narrowing of the EL peak with increasing current was attributed to bandgap renormalization. The results indicate that hybrid LED structures could hold the prospect for the development of green LEDs with superior performance.

Stimulated emission from ZnO thin films with high optical gain and low loss

Stimulated surface- and edge-emissions were investigated for ZnO thin films grown epitaxially by pulsed laser deposition. The lasing threshold was 0.32 MW/cm2 for surface pumping and 0.5 MW/cm2 for edge pumping, which is significantly lower than thresholds observed previously. A modified variable stripe length method was used to measure the gain, which was 1369 cm−1 for the N-band emission. Losses were measured using the shifting excitation spot method and values of 6.2 cm−1 and 6.3 cm−1 were found for the N-band and P-band, respectively. The measured gain and loss were the highest and lowest (respectively) ever reported for ZnO films.

Waveguiding-assisted random lasing in epitaxial ZnO thin film

Zinc oxide thin films were grown on c-sapphire substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Pump power dependence of surface emission spectra, acquired using a quadrupled 266 nm laser, revealed room temperature stimulated emission (threshold of 900 kW/cm2). Time dependent spectral analysis plus gain measurements of single-shot, side-emission spectra pumped with a nitrogen laser revealed random lasing indicative of the presence of self-forming laser cavities. It is suggested that random lasing in an epitaxial system rather than a three-dimensional configuration of disordered scattering elements was due to waveguiding in the film. Waveguiding causes light to be amplified within randomly formed closed-loops acting as lasing cavities.

ZnO thin films and nanostructures for emerging optoelectronic applications

ZnO-based thin films and nanostructures grown by PLD for various emerging optoelectronic applications. AZO thin films are currently displacing ITO for many TCO applications due to recent improvements in attainable AZO conductivity combined with processing, cost and toxicity advantages. Advances in the channel mobilities and Id on/off ratios in ZnO-based TTFTs have opened up the potential for use as a replacement for a-Si in AM-OLED and AM-LCD screens. Angular-dependent specular reflection measurements of self-forming, moth-eye-like, nanostructure arrays grown by PLD were seen to have <0.5% reflectivity over the whole visible spectrum for angles of incidence between 10 and 60 degrees. Such nanostructures may be useful for applications such as AR coatings on solar cells. Compliant ZnO layers on mismatched/amorphous substrates were shown to have potential for MOVPE regrowth of GaN. This approach could be used as a means to facilitate lift-off of GaN-based LEDs from insulating sapphire substrates and could allow the growth of InGaN-based solar cells on cheap substrates. The green gap in InGaN-based LEDs was combated by substituting low Ts PLD n-ZnO for MOCVD n-GaN in inverted hybrid heterojunctions. This approach maintained the integrity of the InGaN MQWs and gave LEDs with green emission at just over 510 nm. Hybrid n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunctions were also seen to have the potential for UV (375 nm) EL, characteristic of ZnO NBE emission. This suggests that there was significant hole injection into the ZnO and that such LEDs could profit from the relatively high exciton binding energy of ZnO.

Clustering of N impurities in ZnO

Ab initio density functional theory and quasiparticle calculations for the incorporation of nitrogen atoms on oxygen sites in ZnO are presented. It is demonstrated that clustering of N atoms is energetically favored over the isolated N0 substitutional impurity. Tetrahedrons of N0 give rise to promising quasiparticle band structures with impurity states slightly above the valence band maximum (VBM), which, however, shift to higher energies with increasing negative ionization. The lowest recharging level ɛ(0/−) tends to a value 0.4 eV above the VBM, which is too deep for anything other than a weak p-doping.

On the interface properties of ZnO/Si electroluminescent diodes

ZnO layers grown on n−-Si(100), n+-Si(100), and n−-Si(111) substrates by pulsed-laser deposition were found to give electroluminescence. Light emission was observed in the form of discrete spots for currents over 1 mA with a white appearance to the naked eye. The intensity of these spots showed an erratic behavior over time, appearing and disappearing at random, while showing an associated random telegraph noise in the current signal. Regardless the substrate used, the electroluminescence spectra had a main broadband emission centered at about 600 nm and a relatively small peak at around 380 nm which corresponds to the energy of ZnO near band edge emission. Furthermore, the devices exhibited rectifying characteristics, whose current blocking direction depended on the substrate orientation. Optimization of ZnO conductivity and performing sample growth in N2 ambient were found to be critical to enhance the emission intensity. Rutherford backscattering characterization revealed the existence of an intermixed...

Enhanced stimulated emission in ZnO thin films using microdisk top-down structuring

Microdisks were fabricated in zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films using a top-down approach combining electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. These microdisk structured thin films exhibit a stimulated surface emission between 3 and 7 times higher than that from a reference film depending on the excitation power density. Emission peak narrowing, reduction in lasing threshold and blue-shifting of the emission wavelength were observed along with enhancement in the emitted intensity. Results indicate that this enhancement is due to an increase in the internal quantum efficiency combined with an amplification of the stimulated emission. An analysis in terms of waveguiding is presented in order to explain these effects. These results demonstrate that very significant gains in emission can be obtained through conventional microstructuration without the need for more onerous top-down nanostructuration techniques.

Fabrication and characterization of novel hybrid green light emitting diodes based on substituting n-type ZnO for n-type GaN in an inverted p-n junction

Details of the fabrication and characterization of hybrid green light emitting diodes, composed of n-ZnO/(InGaN/GaN) multi-quantum-wells/p-GaN on AlN/sapphire, are reported. Scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy, high resolution x-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence were used to study the hybrid device. The effects of solvents, annealing, and etching on n-ZnO are discussed. Successful hybridization of ZnO and (In)GaN into a green light emitting diode was realized.