Henri Nykänen

Enhanced light extraction from InGaN/GaN quantum wells with silver gratings

We demonstrate that an extraction enhancement by a factor of 2.8 can be obtained for a GaN quantum well structure using metallic nanostructures, compared to a flat semiconductor. The InGaN/GaN quantum well is inserted into a dielectric waveguide, naturally formed in the structure, and a silver grating is deposited on the surface and covered with a polymer film. The polymer layer greatly improves the extraction compared to a single metallic grating. The comparison of the experiments with simulations gives strong indications on the key role of weakly guided modes in the polymer layer diffracted by the grating.

Low energy electron beam induced vacancy activation in GaN

Experimental evidence on low energy electron beam induced point defect activation in GaN grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is presented. The GaN samples are irradiated with a 5–20 keV electron beam of a scanning electron microscope and investigated by photoluminescence and positron annihilation spectroscopy measurements. The degradation of the band-to-band luminescence of the irradiated GaN films is associated with the activation of point defects. The activated defects were identified as in-grown Ga-vacancies. We propose that MOVPE-GaN contains a significant concentration of passive VGa-Hn complexes that can be activated by H removal during low energy electron irradiation.

Diffusion injected multi-quantum well light-emitting diode structure

The attention towards light-emitting diode (LED) structures based on nanowires, surface plasmon coupled LEDs, and large-area high-power LEDs has been increasing for their potential in increasing the optical output power and efficiency of LEDs. In this work we demonstrate an alternative way to inject charge carriers into the active region of an LED, which is based on completely different current transport mechanism compared to conventional current injection approaches. The demonstrated structure is expected to help overcoming some of the challenges related to current injection with conventional structures. A functioning III-nitride diffusion injected light-emitting diode structure, in which the light-emitting active region is located outside the pn-junction, is realized and characterized. In this device design, the charge carriers are injected into the active region by bipolar diffusion, which could also be utilized to excite otherwise challenging to realize light-emitting structures.

Low energy electron beam induced damage on InGaN/GaN quantum well structure

In this paper, low energy electron beam (5–20 keV, 0–500 μAs/cm2) induced damage on a GaN/InGaN/GaN near-surface quantum well structure is studied. Exposure to low energy electron beam is shown to significantly reduce the optical quality of the structure. It is also observed that reducing the electron beam energy causes larger PL intensity reduction. This can be explained by considering the beam penetration depth, which is shown to be smaller with lower e-beam energies. The damage is believed to be attributed to enhanced dislocation mobility upon low energy electron beam irradiation. However, further studies are needed to confirm the mechanism. These results should be taken into consideration in low energy electron beam related sample characterization and preparation.

Band-edge luminescence degradation by low energy electron beam irradiation in GaN grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy in H2 and N 2 ambients

The processing and characterization of optical components often requires the use of low energy electron beam (e-beam) techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy or electron beam lithography. The e-beam irradiation has been shown to produce band-edge luminescence degradation in GaN films grown by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), down to 20% of the original intensity in both photoluminescnece and cathodoluminescence measurements. The degradation is shown to be strongly related to activation of gallium vacancies in the GaN lattice. In this paper, this effect has been studied with GaN samples grown in two different carrier gases, N2 and H2. The degradation behavior appears almost identical in both cases, implying the vacancy formation to be independent of the carrier gas. Hence, MOVPE GaN electron beam irradiation resistance cannot be improved with the change of the carrier gas.

Optical and electrical properties of GaN: Si-based microstructures with a wide range of doping levels

The optical and electrical properties of silicon-doped epitaxial gallium nitride layers grown on sapphire have been studied. The studies have been performed over a wide range of silicon concentrations on each side of the Mott transition. The critical concentrations of Si atoms corresponding to the formation of an impurity band in gallium nitride (∼2.5 × 1018 cm−3) and to the overlap of the impurity band with the conduction band (∼2 × 1019 cm−3) have been refined. The maximum of the photoluminescence spectrum shifts nonmonotonically with increasing doping level. This shift is determined by two factors: (1) an increase in the exchange interaction leading to a decrease in the energy gap width and (2) a change in the radiation mechanism as the donor concentration increases. The temperature dependence of the exciton luminescence with participating optical phonons has been studied. The energies of phonon-plasmon modes in GaN: Si layers with different silicon concentrations have been measured using Raman spectroscopy.

Exciton Spectra and Electrical Conductivity of Epitaxial Silicon Doped GaN Layers

Optical spectra and electrical conductivity of silicon-doped epitaxial gallium nitride layers with uncompensated donor concentrations ND — NA up to 4.8 × 1019 cm−3 at T ≈ 5 K have been studied. As follows from the current-voltage characteristics, at a doping level of ∼3 × 1018 cm−3 an impurity band is formed and an increase of donor concentration by one more order of magnitude leads to the merging of the impurity band with the conduction band. The transformation of exciton reflection spectra suggests that the formation of the impurity band triggers effective exciton screening at low temperatures. In a sample with ND — NA = 3.4 × 1018 cm−3, luminescence spectra are still produced by radiation of free and bound excitons. In a sample with ND — NA = 4.8 × 1019 cm−3, Coulomb interaction is already completely suppressed, with the luminescence spectrum consisting of bands deriving from impurity-band-valence band and conduction-band-valence band radiative transitions.

Terahertz reflection and emission associated with nonequilibrium surface plasmon polaritons in n-GaN

Surface plasmon polaritons are investigated in heavily doped n-GaN epitaxial layers. The grating etched on the surface of the epitaxial layer is used to convert photons into the surface plasmon polaritons and vice versa. The spectral study of reflection demonstrates the possibility of nonequilibrium surface plasmon polaritons excitation due to terahertz radiation scattering on the grating. Terahertz electroluminescence is investigated under lateral electric field. The luminescence spectrum demonstrates a significant contribution of nonequilibrium surface plasmon polariton scattering to terahertz radiation emission.