Moritz Brendel

Auger recombination in GaInN/GaN quantum well laser structures

Nonradiative loss processes are a major concern in nitride-based light emitting devices. Utilizing optical gain measurements on GaInN/GaN/AlGaN laser structures, we have studied the dependence of the total recombination rate on excess carrier density, up to rather high densities. From a detailed quantitative analysis, we find a room-temperature Auger recombination coefficient of 1.8 ± 0.2 × 10−31 cm6/s in the bandgap range 2.5 − 3.1 eV, considerably lower than previous experimental estimates. Thus, Auger recombination is expected to be significant for laser diodes, while it is not likely to be a major factor for the droop observed in light-emitting diodes.

Highly efficient light emission from stacking faults intersecting nonpolar GaInN quantum wells

We report on the optical properties of m-plane GaInN/GaN quantum wells (QWs). We found that the emission energy of GaInN QWs grown on m-plane SiC is significantly lower than on non-polar bulk GaN, which we attribute to the high density of stacking faults. Temperature and power dependent photoluminescence reveals that the GaInN QWs on SiC have almost as large internal quantum efficiencies as on bulk GaN despite the much higher defect density. Our results indicate that quantum-wire-like features formed by stacking faults intersecting the quantum wells provide a highly efficient light emission completely dominating the optical properties of the structures.

Measurement and simulation of top- and bottom-illuminated solar-blind AlGaN metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors with high external quantum efficiencies

A comprehensive study on top- and bottom-illuminated Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors having different AlGaN absorber layer thickness is presented. The measured external quantum efficiency (EQE) shows pronounced threshold and saturation behavior as a function of applied bias voltage up to 50 V reaching about 50% for 0.1 μm and 67% for 0.5 μm thick absorber layers under bottom illumination. All experimental findings are in very good accordance with two-dimensional drift-diffusion modeling results. By taking into account macroscopic polarization effects in the hexagonal metal-polar +c-plane AlGaN/AlN heterostructures, new insights into the general device functionality of AlGaN-based MSM photodetectors are obtained. The observed threshold/saturation behavior is caused by a bias-dependent extraction of photoexcited holes from the Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN interface. While present under bottom illumination for any AlGaN layer thickness, under top illumination this mechanism influences the EQE-bias characteristics only for thin layers.

Polarization dependent study of gain anisotropy in semipolar InGaN lasers

The optical gain of single quantum well laser structures on semipolar (112¯2)-GaN in dependence of the optical polarization and the resonator orientation has been studied by variable stripe length method. The c′-[1123¯] resonator shows maximum gain in TE mode, followed by the m-[11¯00]-resonator with extraordinary polarization. The anisotropic gain behaviour is explained by valence sub-band ordering and birefringence of the wurtzite crystal, resulting in a modification of the transition matrix element for stimulated emission. Measurements are accompanied by 6 × 6 k · p band structure calculations and gain analysis.

Anisotropic Responsivity of AlGaN Metal–Semiconductor–Metal Photodetectors on Epitaxial Laterally Overgrown AlN/Sapphire Templates

Al0.4Ga0.6N metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors on epitaxial laterally overgrown (ELO) AlN/sapphire templates show anisotropic device characteristics depending on the orientation of the electrode stripes with respect to the stripe pattern onto which the underlying ELO AlN buffer layers have been grown. With electrodes perpendicular to the stripes, a quantum efficiency (QE) of ∼140 was found for 20-V bias at room-temperature. This gain is explained by carrier transport along channels with increased Ga content resulting from faceted growth at the steps of the ELO template. The resulting potential barrier is confirmed by the activation energy found for the temperature dependence of the QE. In contrast, photodetectors with electrodes running parallel to these channels do not show gain but have an enhanced QE at elevated bias voltage compared to devices on planar AlN buffer layers. This effect is attributed to different densities of threading dislocations in the absorber layer.

AlGaN Metal–Semiconductor–Metal Photodetectors on Planar and Epitaxial Laterally Overgrown AlN/Sapphire Templates for the Ultraviolet C Spectral Region

Schottky type metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) Al0.4Ga0.6N photodetectors (PDs) for the ultraviolet C spectral region on conventional planar AlN templates are compared with epitaxial laterally overgrown (ELO) AlN templates. On planar templates solar blind MSM PDs with state-of-the-art dark current in the pA range and a power independent responsivity are obtained. PDs on ELO templates with fingers parallel to the etched stripes have properties similar to those on planar templates. PDs on ELO templates with contact fingers oriented perpendicular to the etched stripe pattern exhibit photoconductive gain leading to external quantum efficiencies of up to 77 at 30 V applied bias surpassing that of the planar grown PDs by a factor of 100. In spite of the high gain these PDs also show low dark currents, short switching times and two operating regimes with power independent responsivity.

Degradation effects of the active region in UV-C light-emitting diodes

An extensive analysis of the degradation characteristics of AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes emitting around 265 nm is presented. The optical power of LEDs stressed at a constant dc current of 100 mA (current density = 67 A/cm2 and heatsink temperature = 20 °C) decreased to about 58% of its initial value after 250 h of operation. The origin of this degradation effect has been studied using capacitance-voltage and photocurrent spectroscopy measurements conducted before and after aging. The overall device capacitance decreased, which indicates a reduction of the net charges within the space-charge region of the pn-junction during operation. In parallel, the photocurrent at excitation energies between 3.8 eV and 4.5 eV and the photocurrent induced by band-to-band absorption in the quantum barriers at 5.25 eV increased during operation. The latter effect can be explained by a reduction of the donor concentration in the active region of the device. This effect could be attributed to the compensation of donors by the activation or diffusion of acceptors, such as magnesium dopants or group-III vacancies, in the pn-junction space-charge region. The results are consistent with the observed reduction in optical power since deep level acceptors can also act as non-radiative recombination centers.

Influence of Carrier Lifetime, Transit Time, and Operation Voltages on the Photoresponse of Visible-Blind AlGaN Metal--Semiconductor--Metal Photodetectors

We investigated the influence of lifetime and transit time of photogenerated carriers on the performance of visible-blind Al0.25Ga0.75N metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors by a combination of experimental studies and numerical simulations. Good agreement between simulated and measured current–voltage (I–V) characteristics was achieved for several geometries of the interdigitated contact structure. Simulations of the external quantum efficiency (EQE) at low bias voltages showed that a long hole lifetime in the AlGaN absorption layer significantly influences the EQE due to the slow carrier transit in weak electric fields. At 1 V the EQE can be enhanced by a factor of 3 by increasing the hole lifetime from 10 ps to 1 ns. Reducing the electrode spacing from 10 to 1 µm as well as operating the device at higher voltages additionally increases the ratio between carrier lifetime and transit time, resulting in an enhancement of the EQE at a fixed carrier lifetime by one order of magnitude.

Impact of open-core threading dislocations on the performance of AlGaN metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors

The influence of open-core threading dislocations on the bias-dependent external quantum efficiency (EQE) of bottom-illuminated Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors (PDs) is presented. These defects originate at the Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN interface and terminate on the Al0.5Ga0.5N surface as hexagonal prisms. They work as electrically active paths bypassing the Al0.5Ga0.5N absorber layer and therefore alter the behavior of the MSM PDs under bias voltage. This effect is included in the model of carrier collection in the MSM PDs showing a good agreement with the experimental data. While such dislocations usually limit the device performance, the MSM PDs benefit by high EQE at a reduced bias voltage while maintaining a low dark current.

AlGaN-based metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors with high external quantum efficiency at low operating voltage

Solar blind Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors (MSM PDs) are characterized by means of photocurrent spectroscopy. In order to enhance the external quantum efficiency (EQE) at low bias voltages several strategies have been adopted including absorber layer thicknesses, electrode layout and metallization scheme. Analysis of experimental EQE-bias characteristics under top and bottom illumination conditions reveals (1) a correlation between EQE and electrode pair density for symmetric electrode designs and (2) a slight asymmetry of the EQE with respect to bias polarity for bottom-illuminated MSM PD consisting of electrode pairs with different electrode widths (asymmetric design) and (3) zero-bias operation for a-MSM PD consisting of electrode pairs with different metallization schemes. In addition, the combination of thin absorber layer and asymmetric electrode design leads to high EQE values under bottom illumination at very low voltages and zero-bias operation is achieved for the a-MSM detector. The zero-bias EQE of the a-MSM is further enhanced by combining the symmetric detector design with a high electrode pair density.