Kuok-Pan Sou

Fabrication and luminescent properties of core-shell InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells on GaN nanopillars

Core-shell InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on GaN nanopillars were fabricated by top-down etching followed by epitaxial regrowth. The regrowth formed hexagonal sidewalls and pyramids on the nanopillars. The cathodoluminescence of MQWs blue shifts as the location moves from top to bottom on both the pillar sidewalls and pyramid facets, covering a spectral linewidth of about 100 nm. The MQWs on the pillar sidewalls have a higher InN fraction than those on the pyramid facets. The photoluminescent wavelength is stable over two orders of carrier density change due to the smaller quantum confined Stark effect on the nanopillar facets.

Electrically driven nanopyramid green light emitting diode

An electrically driven nanopyramid green light emitting diode (LED) was demonstrated. The nanopyramid arrays were fabricated from a GaN substrate by patterned nanopillar etch, pillar side wall passivation, and epitaxial regrowth. Multiple quantum wells were selectively grown on the facets of the nanopyramids. The fabricated LED emits green wavelength under electrical injection. The emission exhibits a less carrier density dependent wavelength shift and higher internal quantum efficiency as compared with a reference c-plane sample at the same wavelength. It shows a promising potential for using nanopyramid in high In content LED applications.

Electrically driven green, olivine, and amber color nanopyramid light emitting diodes

We report the fabrication and studies of electrically driven green, olivine, and amber color nanopyramid GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs). InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) were grown on the nanopyramid semipolar facets. Compared with the commonly used (0001) c-plane MQWs, the semipolar facet has lower piezoelectric field, resulting in much faster radiative recombination efficiency. This is important for high In content MQWs. The measured internal quantum efficiencies for green, olivine, and amber color LED are 30%, 25%, and 21%, respectively. The radiative and non-radiative lifetime of the semipolar MQWs are also investigated.

Room temperature ultraviolet GaN metal-coated nanorod laser

This study demonstrates a room-temperature ultraviolet GaN/Al nanorod (NR) metal laser with an optimized sidewall. A wet-chemical etching process with potassium hydroxide was used to control the GaN NR sidewall angle and polish the NR surface. The lasing action was observed near a wavelength of 365 nm with a low threshold power density of 5.2 mJ/cm2. The high-quality factor (Q) surface plasmon lasing modes were characterized with experiments and three-dimensional finite-element method simulations. We also studied the optical modes in GaN metal-coated NR with and without an Al layer and verified the metal layer is necessary for high-Q resonant modes.

InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well nanopyramid-on-pillar light-emitting diodes

We report the study of an electrically driven nanopyramid-on-pillar green light-emitting diode (LED). The pyramid-on-pillar nanostructure was fabricated by top-down etching from a GaN template, followed by epitaxial regrowth. High-In-content InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) were grown on semipolar pyramid and nonpolar pillar surfaces. The measured radiative lifetimes of MQWs on these two surfaces were 2 orders of magnitude shorter than that of a conventional c-plane (0001) MQW owing to their lower polarization field. Electrical injection performance was also demonstrated and discussed.

Photoluminescent study of high indium content nanopyramid light emitting diodes

The radiative and non-radiative lifetime of high In content nanopyramid GaN LEDs are investigated by time resolved and temperature dependent photoluminescent measurement. The radiative recombination efficiency is much improved compared with the conventional c-plane LED.

Lasing action in gallium nitride photonic quasicrystal nanorod arrays

We report the observation of lasing action from optically pumped gallium nitride nanorod arrays in a quasicrystal pattern. The nanorods were fabricated from a GaN substrate by nanoimprint patterned etching, followed by epitaxial regrowth to form crystalline facets. The imprint was a 12-fold symmetric quasicrystal pattern. The regrowth grew a multiple quantum well core-shell structure on nanorods. The cathodoluminescent emission of quantum wells red shifts from the bottom to top region of nanorod. Under optical pumping, multiple lasing peaks were observed. The lasing modes formed by 12-fold symmetric photonic quasicrystal nanorod arrays are discussed.

Low efficiency droop of InGaN/GaN blue LEDs with super-lattice active structure

We report the efficiency droop behaviors of InGaN/GaN blue LEDs with different thickness of GaN quantum barriers (QBs). The droop percentage from efficiency peak to 70 A/cm2 is only about 10% as reducing the thickness of GaN QBs from 104 Å to 33 Å. A less carrier localization has been observed from wavelength dependent time resoled photoluminescence measurement as reducing the thickness of GaN QBs. The alleviation of droop percentage may due to more uniform distribution of electron and hole carrier in the active region, which resulted from super-lattice (SL) like active structure. The crystalline quality does not become worse from the results of v-pits density even thickness of GaN QBs is as low as 33 Å. The SL like active structure could be a potential structure to alleviate the efficiency droop for the application of solid state general lighting.

Electrically driven nanoarrow array green LED

An electrically driven nanopyramid green light emitting diode (LED) was demonstrated. The nanopyramid arrays were fabricated from a GaN substrate by patterned nanopillar etch, pillar side wall passivation, and epitaxial regrowth. Multiple quantum wells were selectively grown on the facets of the nanopyramids. The fabricated LED emits green wavelength under electrical injection. The emission exhibits a less carrier density dependent wavelength shift and higher internal quantum efficiency as compared with a reference c-plane sample at the same wavelength. It shows a promising potential for using nanopyramid in high In content LED applications.