Liang-Yi Chen

GaN nanorod light emitting diode arrays with a nearly constant electroluminescent peak wavelength

A practical process to fabricate InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diodes (LEDs) with a self-organized nanorod structure is demonstrated. The nanorod array is realized by using nature lithography of surface patterned silica spheres followed by dry etching. A layer of spin-on-glass (SOG), which intervening the rod spacing, serves the purpose of electric isolation to each of the parallel nanorod LED units. The electroluminescence peak wavelengths of the nanorod LEDs nearly remain as constant for an injection current level between 25mA and 100mA, which indicates that the quantum confined stark effect is suppressed in the nanorod devices. Furthermore, from the Raman light scattering analysis we identify a strain relaxation mechanism for lattice mismatch layers in the nanostructure.

High performance InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diode arrays fabricated by nanosphere lithography and chemical mechanical polishing processes

We fabricated InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diode (LED) arrays using nanosphere lithography for nanorod formation, PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) grown SiO(2) layer for sidewall passivation, and chemical mechanical polishing for uniform nanorod contact. The nano-device demonstrates a reverse current 4.77nA at -5V, an ideality factor 7.35, and an optical output intensity 6807mW/cm(2) at the injection current density 32A/cm(2) (20mA). Moreover, the investigation of the droop effect for such a nanorod LED array reveals that junction heating is responsible for the sharp decrease at the low current.

Application of Nanosphere Lithography to LED Surface Texturing and to the Fabrication of Nanorod LED Arrays

In this study, the process of nanosphere lithography was developed and applied to LED surface texturing and nanorod device fabrication. We observed a texture-size-dependent improvement of total light output. While the increase of output optical power from the textured LEDs can be attributed to surface roughening in the GaN-air surface and to the increase of internal quantum efficiency as the strain is relaxed with the surface texturing, the size-dependent device performance is related to the interaction of generated photons with the textured surface. We further etched through the p-GaN and quantum well region to form p-i-n nanorods on the sample. By inserting a spacer to prevent p-type contact from shorting the n-GaN, we successfully demonstrated nanorod LED arrays. For such a device, a narrower radiation profile was demonstrated from the nanorod LED array as compared with that from the planar LED. The result is associated with the vertical guiding effect along the nanorod cylinder and the Bragg scattering of photons extracted from the sidewall by the rest of the rods. Furthermore, the electroluminescence spectra showed a nearly constant peak wavelength of the nanorod LED arrays, which is due to the suppression of the effect of quantum confined Stark effect.

Nanoparticle-coated n-ZnO/p-Si photodiodes with improved photoresponsivities and acceptance angles for potential solar cell applications

In this work, n-ZnO/p-Si photodiodes were fabricated and characterized to explore their potential applications in solar cells. With a coating of silica nanoparticles, we observed the enhancement of photoresponsivity and acceptance angle at a wavelength between 400 and 650 nm. The 17.6% increase of the photoresponsivity over the conventional device is due to the improved optical transmission toward the semiconductor through the silica nanoparticles. Furthermore, the acceptance angle of the nanoparticle coated device is dramatically increased, which is attributed to the effect of Bragg diffraction.

InGaN–GaN Nanorod Light Emitting Arrays Fabricated by Silica Nanomasks

We present a practical process to fabricate InGaN-GaN multiple quantum well nanorod structures. By using silica nanoparticles as the etch mask and followed by dry etching, nanorods with diameter 100 nm can be uniformly fabricated over the entire 2-in wafer. The photoluminescence spectra of the InGaN-GaN p-i-n nanorod structure are extracted at room and low temperatures. Also, discrete density of states can be observed at the temperature below 60 K. We further fabricate nanorod light emitting devices using a planarization approach to deposit p-type electrode on the tips of nanorods. Current-voltage curves and electroluminescent results of nanorod light emitting diode arrays are demonstrated.

Investigation of low-temperature electroluminescence of InGaN/GaN based nanorod light emitting arrays

For InGaN/GaN based nanorod devices using a top-down etching process, the optical output power is affected by non-radiative recombination due to sidewall defects (which decrease light output efficiency) and the mitigated quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) due to strain relaxation (which increases internal quantum efficiency). Therefore, the exploration of low-temperature optical behaviors of nanorod light emitting diodes (LEDs) will help identify the correlation between these two factors. In this work, low-temperature electroluminescent (EL) spectra of InGaN/GaN nanorod arrays were explored and compared with those of planar LEDs. The nanorod LED exhibits a much higher optical output percentage increase when the temperature decreases. The increase is mainly attributed to the increased carriers in the quantum wells for radiative recombination. Also, due to a better spatial overlap of electrons and holes in the quantum wells, the increased number of carriers can be more efficiently recombined in the nanorod device. Next, while the nanorod array shows nearly constant peak energy in the EL spectra at various injection currents at the temperature of 300 K, a blue shift has been observed at 190 K. The results suggest that with less non-radiative recombination and thus more carriers in the quantum wells, carrier screening and band filling still prevail in the partially strain relaxed nanorods. Moreover, when the temperature drops to 77 K, the blue shift of both nanorod and planar devices disappears and the optical output power decreases since there are fewer carriers in the quantum wells for radiative recombination.

Regulations of granule-bound starch synthase I gene expression in rice leaves by temperature and drought stress

Effects of temperature (15/10, 25/20, 30/25, and 35/30 °C) and drought stresses on the expression of granule-bound starch synthase I (GBSSI) gene were examined in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. The GBSSI expression was higher at the low temperature (15/10 °C), and the transcript level decreased at temperatures higher than 30 °C. Protein phosphorylation was involved in the low temperature-stimulated signal transduction of GBSSI regulation. The expression of GBSSI in rice seedling was reduced under a drought stress. Even though exogenous ABA played a role to reduce the GBSSI transcript accumulation under non-stress condition, the reducing of GBSSI expression by drought stress appeared to be mediated by an ABA-independent pathway.

Optical Properties of the Partially Strain Relaxed InGaN/GaN Light-Emitting Diodes Induced by p-Type GaN Surface Texturing

Partial strain relaxation from the light-emitting diode (LED) with surface-textured p-GaN was observed. The textured device possesses less efficiency droop and a higher current level at the efficiency maximum, as compared with the planar one. The results suggest that surface roughening affects not only the external light extraction but also the internal quantum efficiency. Furthermore, the photoluminescent (PL) measurement at low temperature reveals that the percentage increment of the optical power of the textured LED over that of the planar LED becomes lower. In addition to the effect of frozen nonradiative defect states, the PL difference is related to the strain-correlated quantum-confined Stark effect.

Effects of Strains and Defects on the Internal Quantum Efficiency of InGaN/GaN Nanorod Light Emitting Diodes

The internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based nanorod light emitting diode (LED) arrays is determined by the effects of reduced quantum confined Stark effect and sidewall-defect-related non-radiative recombination. Here we report the characterizations of light output of nanorod LED arrays with different rod etching depths. During the definition of nanorods, the effect of strain relaxation is accompanied by the formation of sidewall defects picked up from dry etching. The sample with shallower nanorods possesses fewer defects and thus a higher light output power. On the other hand, the device with longer nanorods has more relaxed strain and smaller efficiency droop. This paper indicates that a shorter nanorod etching depth is preferred for a higher light output. However, the longer nanorod structure has a less severe droop effect and a higher operating current, which may eventually lead to higher optical output if the defects can be properly suppressed.

Interactions of Diffraction Modes Contributed From Surface Photonic Crystals and Nanoholes in a GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diode

Photonic crystals (PhCs) were typically fabricated on the mesa surface of an LED to improve light extraction, which is regarded as the weak coupling between the laterally propagated light in the epilayers and the surface nanostructure. Here, we report GaN-based LEDs with the PhC structure on the mesa surface and nanohole reflectors surrounding the light-emitting mesa. The output power of the new LED structure is higher than that of the device with only surface PhCs due to the enhanced diffraction of low-order modes propagated in the lateral direction, in addition to the higher order mode light diffraction from the surface PhCs. From the relative angular spectra, the interaction of in-plane optical wave with the nanoholes (which are etched through multiple quantum wells) is much stronger than that with surface PhCs, suggesting an efficient light diffraction to the surface normal by nanoholes.