Daehong Min

Phosphor-free white-light emitters using in-situ GaN nanostructures grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition.

Realization of phosphor-free white-light emitters is becoming an important milestone on the road to achieve high quality and reliability in high-power white-light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, most of reported methods have not been applied to practical use because of their difficulties and complexity. In this study we demonstrated a novel and practical growth method for phosphor-free white-light emitters without any external processing, using only in-situ high-density GaN nanostructures that were formed by overgrowth on a silicon nitride (SiNx) interlayer deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The nano-sized facets produced variations in the InGaN thickness and the indium concentration when an InGaN/GaN double heterostructure was monolithically grown on them, leading to white-color light emission. It is important to note that the in-situ SiNx interlayer not only facilitated the GaN nano-facet structure, but also blocked the propagation of dislocations.

Inclined angle-controlled growth of GaN nanorods on m-sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition without a catalyst

In this study, we have intentionally grown novel types of (11-22)- and (1-10-3)-oriented(3) and self-assembled inclined GaN nanorods (NRs) on (10-10) m-sapphire substrates using metal organic chemical vapor deposition without catalysts and ex situ patterning. Nitridation of the m-sapphire surface was observed to be crucial to the inclined angle as well as the growth direction of the GaN NRs. Polarity-selective KOH etching confirmed that both (11-22) and (1-10-3) GaN NRs are nitrogen-polar. Using pole figure measurements and selective area electron diffraction patterns, the epitaxial relationship between the inclined (11-22) and (1-10-3) GaN NRs and m-sapphire substrates was systematically demonstrated. Furthermore, it was verified that the GaN NRs were single-crystalline wurtzite structures. We observed that stacking fault-related defects were generated during the initial growth stage using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The blue-shift of the near band edge (NBE) peak in the inclined angle-controlled GaN NRs can be explained by a band filling effect through carrier saturation of the conduction band, resulting from a high Si-doping concentration; in addition, the decay time of NBE emission in (11-22)- and (1-10-3)-oriented NRs was much shorter than that of stacking fault-related emission. These results suggest that defect-free inclined GaN NRs can be grown on m-sapphire without ex situ treatment.

Colour-crafted phosphor-free white light emitters via in-situ nanostructure engineering

Colour-temperature (Tc) is a crucial specification of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) used in a variety of smart-lighting applications. Commonly, Tc is controlled by distributing various phosphors on top of the blue or ultra violet LED chip in conventional phosphor-conversion WLEDs (PC-WLEDs). Unfortunately, the high cost of phosphors, additional packaging processes required, and phosphor degradation by internal thermal damage must be resolved to obtain higher-quality PC-WLEDs. Here, we suggest a practical in-situ nanostructure engineering strategy for fabricating Tc-controlled phosphor-free white light-emitting diodes (PF-WLEDs) using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition. The dimension controls of in-situ nanofacets on gallium nitride nanostructures, and the growth temperature of quantum wells on these materials, were key factors for Tc control. Warm, true, and cold white emissions were successfully demonstrated in this study without any external processing.

Improved Performance of (112̄2) Semipolar InGaN/GaN Light-Emitting Diodes Grown Using a Hemispherically Patterned SiO2 Mask

In this paper, we report on the improved performance of (112) semipolar InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown using a hemispherically patterned SiO2 mask on an m-plane sapphire substrate (HP-SiO2), in comparison with a planar m-plane sapphire substrate and a hemispherically patterned m-plane sapphire substrate (HPSS), by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The full widths at half maximum of X-ray rocking curves for the on- and off-axes planes of the GaN layers on HP-SiO2 were the narrowest of the three samples. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images showed larger low defect areas of GaN layers on HP-SiO2 than on HPSS. The electroluminescence results showed that the optical powers of LEDs on HPSS and HP-SiO2 increased by approximately 2.7 and 6 times, respectively, over that of m-planar sapphire at 100 mA. Our results suggest that the introduction of HP-SiO2 is very effective to improve the crystal quality as well as the light extraction efficiency of semipolar InGaN LEDs.

Self-assembled growth and structural analysis of inclined GaN nanorods on nanoimprinted m-sapphire using catalyst-free metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

In this study, self-assembled inclined (1-10-3)-oriented GaN nanorods (NRs) were grown on nanoimprinted (10-10) m-sapphire substrates using catalyst-free metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. According to X-ray phi-scans, the inclined GaN NRs were tilted at an angle of ∼57.5° to the [10-10]sapp direction. Specifically, the GaN NRs grew in a single inclined direction to the [11-20]sapp. Uni-directionally inclined NRs were formed through the one-sided (10-11)-faceted growth of the interfacial a-GaN plane layer. It was confirmed that a thin layer of a-GaN was formed on r-facet nanogrooves of the m-sapphire substrate by nitridation. The interfacial a-GaN nucleation affected both the inclined angle and the growth direction of the inclined GaN NRs. Using X-ray diffraction and selective area electron diffraction, the epitaxial relationship between the inclined (1-10-3) GaN NRs and interfacial a-GaN layer on m-sapphire substrates was systematically investigated. Moreover, the inclined GaN NRs were observed to ...

Comparison between the relaxation mechanisms of thick (0001) polar and

In this paper, we investigated the relaxation mechanism of the (0001) polar and semipolar InGaN layer. We observed significantly different tendencies in the relaxation mechanism of both polarities, and each polarity experienced a different relaxation process. Owing to the inclination in the growth orientation of the semipolar layer, misfit dislocations (MDs) occurred at the heterointerface when the strain state of the InGaN layers reached a critical point. Because this result led to gradual relaxation of entire InGaN layers, neither a growth-mode transition (2D pseudomorphic to the 3D domain) nor lateral indium fluctuation occurred. By contrast, the stress-relaxed (0001) polar InGaN layer showed no generation of additional defects at the heterointerface, and the interface area remained strained with respect to the underlying GaN layer. Therefore, because the layer exhibited strong lateral variation in its strain field, growth-mode transition and indium content fluctuation occurred.

(11\bar{2}2)

In this study, the properties of thick stress-relaxed (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers were investigated. Owing to the inclination of growth orientation, misfit dislocations (MDs) occurred at the heterointerface when the strain state of the (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers reached the critical point. We found that unlike InGaN layers based on polar and nonpolar growth orientations, the surface morphologies of the stress-relaxed (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers did not differ from each other and were similar to the morphology of the underlying GaN layer. In addition, misfit strain across the whole InGaN layer was gradually relaxed by MD formation at the heterointerface. To minimize the effect of surface roughness and defects in GaN layers on the InGaN layer, we conducted further investigation on a thick (11–22) semipolar InGaN layer grown on an epitaxial lateral overgrown GaN template. We found that the lateral indium composition across the whole stress-relaxed InGaN layer was almost uniform. Therefore, thick st...

semipolar InGaN layers

Nonpolar, a-plane InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were grown on a hemispherical r-plane patterned sapphire substrate (HPSS) by the in situ deposition of SiNx masks and on a planar sapphire substrate by metalorganic chemical deposition (MOCVD). The use of the SiNx interlayer together with HPSS resulted in a reduced density of defects, such as basal plane stacking faults (BSFs) and partial dislocations (PDs) in the GaN epilayers, as compared with the use of GaN on a conventional planar substrate. The optical power of the InGaN LEDs with the SiNx layer and HPSS was approximately 2.5- and 10-fold higher than those of LEDs on SiNx and on a planar substrate at a current of 100 mA, respectively.