Martin Strassburg

Nitrogen-related local vibrational modes in ZnO:N

We study the influence of nitrogen, a potential acceptor in ZnO, on the lattice dynamics of ZnO. A series of samples grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) containing different nitrogen concentrations, as determined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), was investigated. The Raman spectra revealed vibrational modes at 275, 510, 582, 643, and 856 cm−1 in addition to the host phonons of ZnO. The intensity of these additional modes correlates linearly with the nitrogen concentration and can be used as a quantitative measure of nitrogen in ZnO. These modes are interpreted as local vibrational modes. Furthermore, SIMS showed a correlation between the concentration of incorporated nitrogen and unintentional hydrogen, similar to the incorporation of the p-dopant magnesium and hydrogen in GaN during metalorganic CVD.

Continuous-flux MOVPE growth of position-controlled N-face GaN nanorods and embedded InGaN quantum wells

We demonstrate the fabrication of N-face GaN nanorods by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE), using continuous-flux conditions. This is in contrast to other approaches reported so far, which have been based on growth modes far off the conventional growth regimes. For position control of nanorods an SiO(2) masking layer with a dense hole pattern on a c-plane sapphire substrate was used. Nanorods with InGaN/GaN heterostructures have been grown catalyst-free. High growth rates up to 25 microm h(-1) were observed and a well-adjusted carrier gas mixture between hydrogen and nitrogen enabled homogeneous nanorod diameters down to 220 nm with aspect ratios of approximately 8:1. The structural quality and defect progression within nanorods were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Different emission energies for InGaN quantum wells (QWs) could be assigned to different side facets by room temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements.

The growth and optical properties of large, high-quality AlN single crystals

The effect of impurities and defects on the optical properties of AlN was investigated. High-quality AlN single crystals of more than 20mm2 size were examined. Different crucible materials and growth procedures were applied to the growth of bulk AlN by physical vapor transport method to vary the defect and the impurity concentrations. The crystalline orientation was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Glow discharge mass spectrometry was used to determine the trace concentration of the incorporated impurities such as oxygen and carbon. The photoluminescence emission and absorption properties of the crystals revealed bands around 3.5 and 4.3eV at room temperature. Absorption edges ranging between 4.1 and 5.95eV were observed. Since no straight correlation of the oxygen concentration was obtained, a major contribution of oxygen or oxygen-related impurities was ruled out to generate the observed emission and absorption bands in the Ultraviolet spectral range. The carbon-related impurities and intrinsic defec...

Molecular beam epitaxial growth and optical properties of red-emitting (λ = 650 nm) InGaN/GaN disks-in-nanowires on silicon

We have investigated the radiative properties of InGaN disks in GaN nanowires grown by plasma enhanced molecular beam epitaxy on (001) silicon substrates. The growth of the nanowire heterostructures has been optimized to maximize the radiative efficiency, or internal quantum efficiency (IQE), for photoluminescence emission at λ = 650 nm. It is found that the IQE increases significantly (by ∼10%) to 52%, when post-growth passivation of nanowire surface with silicon nitride or parylene is applied. The increase in efficiency is supported by radiative- and nonradiative lifetimes derived from data obtained from temperature dependent- and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. Light emitting diodes with p-i-n disk-in-nanowire heterostructures passivated with parylene have been fabricated and characterized.

GaN∕AlGaN ultraviolet/infrared dual-band detector

Group III-V wide band gap materials are widely used in developing solar blind, radiation-hard, high speed optoelectronic devices. A device detecting both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) simultaneously will be an important tool in fire fighting and for military and other applications. Here a heterojunction UV/IR dual-band detector, where the UV/IR detection is due to interband/intraband transitions in the Al0.026Ga0.974N barrier and GaN emitter, respectively, is reported. The UV threshold observed at 360nm corresponds to the band gap of the Al0.026Ga0.974N barrier, and the IR response obtained in the range of 8–14μm is in good agreement with the free carrier absorption model.

Magnetic and optical properties of Ga1−xMnxN grown by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition

Epitaxial layers of Ga1−xMnxN with concentrations of up to x = 0.015 have been grown on c-sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. No ferromagnetic second phases were detected via high-resolution x-ray diffraction. Crystalline quality and surface structure were measured by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. No significant deterioration in crystal quality and no increase in surface roughness with the incorporation of Mn were detected. Optical measurements show a broad emission band attributed to a Mn-related transition at 3.0 eV that is not seen in the underlying GaN virtual substrate layers. Room temperature ferromagnetic hysteresis has been observed in these samples, which may be due to either Mn-clustering on the atomic scale or the Ga1−xMnxN bulk alloy.

Temperature-Dependent Internal Quantum Efficiency of Blue High-Brightness Light-Emitting Diodes

Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of a blue high-brightness InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) was evaluated from the external quantum efficiency measured as a function of current at various temperatures ranged between 13 and 440 K. Processing the data with a novel evaluation procedure based on the ABC-model, we have determined the temperature-dependent IQE of the LED structure and light extraction efficiency of the LED chip. Separate evaluation of these parameters is helpful for further optimization of the heterostructure and chip designs. The data obtained enable making a guess on the temperature dependence of the radiative and Auger recombination coefficients, which may be important for identification of dominant mechanisms responsible for the efficiency droop in III-nitride LEDs. Thermal degradation of the LED performance in terms of the emission efficiency is also considered.

Nanoscale imaging of InN segregation and polymorphism in single vertically aligned InGaN/GaN multi quantum well nanorods by tip-enhanced Raman scattering

Vertically aligned GaN nanorod arrays with nonpolar InGaN/GaN multi quantum wells (MQW) were grown by MOVPE on c-plane GaN-on-sapphire templates. The chemical and structural properties of single nanorods are optically investigated with a spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). This enables the local mapping of variations in the chemical composition, charge distribution, and strain in the MQW region of the nanorods. Nanoscale fluctuations of the In content in the InGaN layer of a few percent can be identified and visualized with a lateral resolution below 35 nm. We obtain evidence for the presence of indium clustering and the formation of cubic inclusions in the wurtzite matrix near the QW layers. These results are directly confirmed by high-resolution TEM images, revealing the presence of stacking faults and different polymorphs close to the surface near the MQW region. The combination of TERS and HRTEM demonstrates the potential of this nanoscale near-field imaging technique, establishing TERS as a very potent, comprehensive, and nondestructive tool for the characterization and optimization of technologically relevant semiconductor nanostructures.

Nitrogen-polar core-shell GaN light-emitting diodes grown by selective area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Homogeneous nitrogen-polar GaN core-shell light emitting diode (LED) arrays were fabricated by selective area growth on patterned substrates. Transmission electron microscopy measurements prove the core-shell structure of the rod LEDs. Depending on the growth facets, the InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) show different dimensions and morphology. Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements reveal a MQWs emission centered at about 415 nm on sidewalls and another emission at 460 nm from top surfaces. CL line scans on cleaved rod also indicate the core-shell morphology. Finally, an internal quantum efficiency of about 28% at room temperature was determined by an all-optical method on a LED array.

Growth kinetics and mass transport mechanisms of GaN columns by selective area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

Three-dimensional GaN columns recently have attracted a lot of attention as the potential basis for core-shell light emitting diodes for future solid state lighting. In this study, the fundamental insights into growth kinetics and mass transport mechanisms of N-polar GaN columns during selective area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy on patterned SiOx/sapphire templates are systematically investigated using various pitch of apertures, growth time, and silane flow. Species impingement fluxes on the top surface of columns Jtop and on their sidewall Jsw, as well as, the diffusion flux from the substrate Jsub contribute to the growth of the GaN columns. The vertical and lateral growth rates devoted by Jtop, Jsw and Jsub are estimated quantitatively. The diffusion length of species on the SiOx mask surface λsub as well as on the sidewall surfaces of the 3D columns λsw are determined. The influences of silane on the growth kinetics are discussed. A growth model is developed for this selective area metal organic...