Jianchang Yan

282-nm AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with improved performance on nano-patterned sapphire substrates

We first report AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) grown on nano-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSS) prepared through a nanosphere lithography technique. The AlN coalescence thickness on NPSS is only 3 μm due to AlNs nano-scaled lateral growth, which also leads to low dislocation densities in AlN and epi-layers above. On NPSS, the light-output power of a 282-nm UV-LED reaches 3.03 mW at 20 mA with external quantum efficiency of 3.45%, exhibiting 98% better performance than that on flat sapphire. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence reveals this significant enhancement to be a combination of higher internal quantum efficiency and higher light extraction efficiency.

Three-dimensional hole gas induced by polarization in (0001)-oriented metal-face III-nitride structure

Polarization-doping via graded AlGaN layer on N-face (0001¯) GaN has been demonstrated as an inspiring p-type doping method for wide-band-gap nitrides. However, the polarity of III-nitrides grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition is metal-face typically. In this paper, we show that three-dimensional mobile hole gas induced by polarization can be formed in (0001)-oriented metal-face III-nitride structure. The hole concentration of a Mg-doped AlxGa1−xN layer with graded Al composition from x=0.3 to 0 grown on AlN buffer layer is remarkably enhanced, compared with that of a Mg-doped GaN layer grown under the same conditions. In addition, the hole concentration in the graded AlGaN layer is absence of freezeout as the temperature decreases, indicating that the hole is induced by polarization. This p-type doping method paves a way for achieving high-efficiency in wide-band-gap semiconductor light-emitting devices with p-type doping problem.

Temperature dependence of the Raman-active modes in the nonpolar a-plane GaN film

Temperature dependences of the polarized Raman scattering spectra in the backscattering configuration of the nonpolar a-plane (or [11 (2) over bar0]-oriented) GaN thin film are analyzed in the range from 100 to 570 K. The nonpolar a-plane GaN film is grown on an r-plane [or (1 (1) over bar 02)-oriented] sapphire substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The spectral features of the Raman shifts, intensities, and linewidths of the active phonons modes A(1)(TO), E-1(TO), and E-2(high) are significantly revealed, and corresponding temperature coefficients are well deduced by the empirical relationships. With increasing the measurement temperature the Raman frequencies are substantially redshifted and the linewidths gradually broaden. The compressive-strain-free temperature for the nonpolar a-plane GaN film is found to be at about 400 K. Our studies will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental physical characteristics of the nonpolar GaN film. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Optical properties of nanopillar AlGaN/GaN MQWs for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

Nanopillar AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were fabricated by nanosphere lithography and dry-etching. The optical properties of the nanopillar LEDs were characterized by both temperature-dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. Compared to an as-grown sample, the nanopillar sample has a PL emission peak blue-shift of 7 meV, a 42% enhanced internal quantum efficiency at room temperature and a reduced radiative recombination lifetime from 870 picosecond to 621 picosecond at 7K. These results are directly from the suppressed quantum confined stark effect that is due to the strain relaxation in the nanopillar MQWs, further revealed by micro-Raman measurement. Additionally, finite-difference time domain simulation also proves better light extraction efficiency in the nanopillar LEDs.

First and second order Raman scattering spectroscopy of nonpolar a-plane GaN

Nonpolar a-plane [(1120)] GaN samples have been grown on r-plane [(1102)] sapphire substrates by low-pressure metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. The room-temperature first and second order Raman scattering spectra of nonpolar a-plane GaN have been measured in surface and edge backscattering geometries. All of the phonon modes that the selection rules allow have been observed in the first order Raman spectra. The frequencies and linewidths of the active modes have been analyzed. The second order phonon modes are composed of acoustic overtones, acoustic-optical and optical-optical combination bands, and optical overtones. The corresponding assignments of second order phonon modes have been made. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Stimulated emission at 288 nm from silicon-doped AlGaN-based multiple-quantum-well laser.

We demonstrated stimulated emission at 288 nm from a silicon-doped AlGaN-based multiple-quantum-well (MQW) ultraviolet (UV) laser grown on sapphire. The optical pumping threshold energy density of the UV laser was 64 mJ/cm2, while lasing behavior was not observed in undoped AlGaN MQWs. This means silicon doping could effectively reduce the lasing threshold of UV lasers, and the mechanism was studied showing that the silicon-doped AlGaN MQWs had a 41% higher internal quantum efficiency (IQE) compared with the undoped one. The transmission electron microscopy characterization showed that silicon doping explicitly improved the crystallographic quality of MQWs. Calculation of the polarization charge in the MQWs further revealed that the advantage of better structure quality outweighed the reduction of internal polarization field by Si doping for the IQE enhancement and successful stimulated emission.

Optical properties of magnesium doped AlxGa1−xN (0.61 ≤ x ≤ 0.73)

We investigate the optical properties of AlxGa1–xN:Mg with aluminum content of 0.61 ≤ x ≤ 0.733 in comparison to undoped and silicon doped reference samples. The ordinary dielectric functions, excitation, and emission spectra are reported at different temperatures. A comprehensive analysis yields quantitative data on the valence band structure of the ternary alloy, i.e., splitting and order of valence bands with different symmetries. Finally, the near band gap emission in AlGaN:Mg is found to be most probably dominated by donor to free-hole recombination.

Optical investigation of strong exciton localization in high Al composition AlxGa1-xN alloys

The exciton localization in wurtzite AlxGa₁-xN alloys with x varying from 0.41 to 0.63 has been studied by deep-ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and picosecond time-resolved PL spectroscopy. Obvious S-shape temperature dependence was observed indicating that the strong exciton localization can be formed in high Al composition AlxGa₁-xN alloys. It was also found that the Al composition dependence of exciton localization energy of AlGaN alloys is inconsistent with that of the excitonic linewidth. We contribute the inconsistency to the strong zero-dimensional exciton localization.

Aluminum nitride-on-sapphire platform for integrated high-Q microresonators

We demonstrate aluminum nitride (AlN) on sapphire as a novel platform for integrated optics. High-confinement AlN microring resonators are realized by adopting a partially etched (pedestal) waveguide to relax the required etching selectivity for exact pattern transfer. A wide taper is employed at the chip end facets to ensure a low fiber-to-chip coupling loss of ~2.8 dB/facet for both transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) modes. Furthermore, the intrinsic quality factors (Qint) recorded with a high-resolution linewidth measurement are up to ~2.5 and 1.9 million at telecom band for fundamental TE00 and TM00 modes, corresponding to a low intracavity propagation loss of ~0.14 and 0.2 dB/cm as well as high resonant buildup of 473 and 327, respectively. Such high-Q AlN-on-sapphire microresonators are believed to be very promising for on-chip nonlinear optics.

Light extraction enhancement of AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by substrate sidewall roughening

The effect of sapphire substrates sidewall roughening on light extraction of AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV LEDs) is investigated. Finite-difference time-domain simulation reveals that a roughening region for effective light extraction enhancement exists on the substrates sidewall. Roughening outside the effective roughening region will result in undesirable inward photon scattering and absorption. For TM-polarization-dominated deep-UV LEDs, the effective roughening region is from the substrates backside to the position about L/2 × tan(θc) away from the substrates front side, where L is the side length of the LED device and θc is the critical angle of total reflection. In the LED device fabrication, picosecond laser dicing is employed to realize roughening layers on the sapphire substrates sidewalls. The UV LEDs with three roughening layers have 13.2% higher average light output power (LOP) at 20 mA than those with two roughening layers, thanks to the larger roughening area in the ...