Piotr Perlin

“Blue” temperature-induced shift and band-tail emission in InGaN-based light sources

Electro- and photoluminescence spectra of high-brightness light-emitting AlGaN/InGaN/GaN single-quantum-well structures are studied over a broad range of temperatures and pumping levels. Blue shift of the spectral peak position was observed along with an increase of temperature and current. An involvement of band-tail states in the radiative recombination was considered, and a quantitative description of the blue temperature-induced shift was proposed assuming a Gaussian shape of the band tail.

Low‐temperature study of current and electroluminescence in InGaN/AlGaN/GaN double‐heterostructure blue light‐emitting diodes

Electrical and optical properties of Nichia double‐heterostructure blue light‐emitting diodes, with In0.06Ga0.94N:Zn, Si active layer, are investigated over a wide temperature range from 10 to 300 K. Current–voltage characteristics have complex character and suggest the involvement of various tunneling mechanisms. At small voltages (and currents), the peak wavelength of the optical emission shifts with the applied bias across a large spectral range from 539 nm (2.3 eV) up to 443 nm (2.8 eV). Light emission takes place even at the lowest temperatures, indicating that a complete carrier freeze‐out does not occur.

INGAN/GAN QUANTUM WELLS STUDIED BY HIGH PRESSURE, VARIABLE TEMPERATURE, AND EXCITATION POWER SPECTROSCOPY

The energies of photo- and electroluminescence transitions in InxGa1−xN quantum wells exhibit a characteristic “blueshift” with increasing pumping power. This effect has been attributed either to band-tail filling, or to screening of piezoelectric fields. We have studied the pressure and temperature behavior of radiative recombination in InxGa1−xN/GaN quantum wells with x=0.06, 0.10, and 0.15. We find that, although the recombination has primarily a band-to-band character, the excitation-power induced blueshift can be attributed uniquely to piezoelectric screening. Calculations of the piezoelectric field in pseudomorphic InxGa1−xN layers agree very well with the observed Stokes redshift of the photoluminescence. The observed pressure coefficients of the photoluminescence (25–37 meV/GPa) are surprisingly low, and, so far, their magnitude can only be partially explained.

Influence of pressure on photoluminescence and electroluminescence in GaN/InGaN/AlGaN quantum wells

We have measured photoluminescence and electroluminescence in two different types of high-brightness single-quantum-well light emitting diodes manufactured by Nichia Chemical Industries with InxGa1−xN active layers (x=0.45 and x=0.15), under hydrostatic pressures up to 8 GPa. We discovered that the pressure shift of the primary luminescence peak in each diode is very small: 12 and 16 meV/GPa for the green and blue diodes, respectively. The observed pressure coefficients are much lower than those characteristic of the energy gap in GaN (≈40 meV/GPa) or the energy gap in InN (≈33 meV/GPa). This kind of behavior is usually associated with recombination processes involving localized states. These localized states may be associated either with band tails (arising from In fluctuations in the active layer or from high density of defects), and/or with localized excitons of various types.

Reduction of the energy gap pressure coefficient of GaN due to the constraining presence of the sapphire substrate

We have performed a detailed investigation of the photoluminescence pressure dependence of heteroepitaxial GaN thin films on sapphire substrates. A comparison between as grown GaN on sapphire and free-standing GaN membranes, created using a laser assisted substrate liftoff process, revealed that the presence of the sapphire substrate leads to an energy gap pressure coefficient reduction of approximately 5%. This result agrees with the numerical simulations presented in this article. We established that the linear pressure coefficient of free-standing GaN is 41.4±0.2 meV/GPa, and that the deformation potential of the energy gap is −9.36±0.04 eV. Our results also suggest a new, lower value of the pressure derivative for the bulk modulus of GaN (B′=3.5).

Visible light communications using a directly modulated 422 nm GaN laser diode

Visible light communications using a Gallium-nitride (GaN) laser diode is reported. Devices, which are cased in TO packages, show modulation bandwidths of up to 1.4 GHz. We demonstrate error-free data transmission, defined as transmission of 1×10(-9) bits without any errors, at 2.5 Gbit/s with a sensitivity of 11.5 dBm.

Interband optical absorption in free standing layer of Ga0.96In0.04As0.99N0.01

We have measured the interband optical absorption of a free-standing sample of Ga0.96In0.04As0.99N0.01 in a wide energy range from 1 to 2.5 eV. We found that the fundamental absorption edge is shifted by 150 meV towards lower energies, and the absorption coefficient measured at higher energies exhibits substantial reduction comparing to that of GaAs. By removing the GaAs substrate, we were able to get an experimental insight into the interband optical transitions and the density of state in this material. The changes can be understood within the band anticrossing model predicting the conduction band splitting. New absorption edges associated with optical transitions from the spin-orbit split off band to the lower conduction subband (1.55 eV) and from the top of the valence band to the upper subband (1.85 eV) are observed.

Pressure and temperature dependence of the absorption edge of a thick Ga0.92In0.08As0.985N0.015 layer

We have studied the pressure and temperature dependence of the absorption edge of a 4-μm-thick layer of the alloy Ga0.92In0.08As0.985N0.015. We have measured the hydrostatic pressure coefficient of the energy gap of this alloy to be 51 meV/GPa, which is more than a factor two lower than that of GaAs (116 meV/GPa). This surprisingly large lowering of the pressure coefficient is attributed to the addition of only ∼1.5% nitrogen. In addition, the temperature-induced shift of the edge is reduced by the presence of nitrogen. We can explain this reduction by the substantial decrease of the dilatation term in the temperature dependence of the energy gap.

Growth of 1.3 μm InGaAsN laser material on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy

We have grown bulk GaAsN and InGaAsN quantum well laser structures using molecular beam epitaxy and an electron cyclotron resonance plasma source with N2 gas. X-ray diffraction measurements in GaAsN grown on GaAs were used to determine the concentration of N in the range of 0% to ∼2%. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements were done on quantum well test structures and half lasers. The PL intensity decreases and the PL full width at half maximum (FWHM) increases as the wavelength increases. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 850 °C for 10 s improves the PL intensity by a factor of 8 and increases the PL peak emission energy by 80 meV. The longest wavelength measured to date in laser structures with single quantum wells of InGaAsN is 1480 nm with a FWHM of 60 meV. Samples with and without RTA were fabricated into broad-area lasers with dimensions of 50×500 μm2. Laser devices with RTA operated in the pulsed mode at 1.3 μm with a threshold current density of 9.5 kA/cm2.

Effect of internal absorption on cathodoluminescence from GaN

We have studied optical properties of GaN grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition in the near band-edge energy range by cathodoluminescence. A large shift of the band-edge luminescence to lower energies is induced by increasing the beam energy. The free exciton position shifts about 20 meV when the beam energy is increased from 5 keV to 25 keV at room-temperature. The effect is explained by internal absorption caused by an exponential absorption tail at the band-edge. An Urbach parameter of about 30 to 40 meV for the exponential band-tail in our samples is estimated by comparing experimental with simulated spectra.