Y.-K. Song

AlGaN/GaN quantum well ultraviolet light emitting diodes

We report on the growth and characterization of ultraviolet GaN quantum well light emitting diodes. The room-temperature electroluminescence emission was peaked at 353.6 nm with a narrow linewidth of 5.8 nm. In the simple planar devices, without any efforts to improve light extraction efficiency, an output power of 13 μW at 20 mA was measured, limited in the present design by absorption in the GaN cap layer and buffer layer. Pulsed electroluminescence data demonstrate that the output power does not saturate up to current densities approaching 9 kA/cm2.

Recombination dynamics in InGaN quantum wells

Transient photoluminescence measurements are reported on a thin InGaN single quantum well, encompassing the high injection regime. The radiative processes that dominate the recombination dynamics, especially at low temperatures, show the impact of localized electronic states that are distributed over a large energy range (∼100 meV). We suggest that these states originate from microstructural disorder in the InGaN/GaN system.

Active Microelectronic Neurosensor Arrays for Implantable Brain Communication Interfaces

We have built a wireless implantable microelectronic device for transmitting cortical signals transcutaneously. The device is aimed at interfacing a cortical microelectrode array to an external computer for neural control applications. Our implantable microsystem enables 16-channel broadband neural recording in a nonhuman primate brain by converting these signals to a digital stream of infrared light pulses for transmission through the skin. The implantable unit employs a flexible polymer substrate onto which we have integrated ultra-low power amplification with analog multiplexing, an analog-to-digital converter, a low power digital controller chip, and infrared telemetry. The scalable 16-channel microsystem can employ any of several modalities of power supply, including radio frequency by induction, or infrared light via photovoltaic conversion. As of the time of this report, the implant has been tested as a subchronic unit in nonhuman primates (~ 1 month), yielding robust spike and broadband neural data on all available channels.

Resonant-cavity InGaN quantum-well blue light-emitting diodes

We describe progress in blue resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes, based on InGaN/GaN quantum-well heterostructures. We have fabricated vertical-microcavity devices in which either one or both mirrors forming the cavity are patterned, high-reflectivity dielectrics Bragg reflectors. The results suggest that a blue vertical-cavity diode laser may be feasible by this approach.

A quasicontinuous wave, optically pumped violet vertical cavity surface emitting laser

We have fabricated and studied a violet (λ=403 nm) vertical cavity surface emitting laser structure, composed of an InGaN multiple quantum well active medium and a pair of high reflectivity dielectric mirrors. Lasing under high repetition rate (76 MHz) pulsed optical pumping has been achieved at temperatures up to T=258 K at average pump power of approximately 30 mW.

Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes operating in the 340nm wavelength range and application to time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy

We report on the development of UV light-emitting diodes in the 340nm wavelength range, based on quaternary AlGaInN quantum-well active media. Output powers up to 1mW from small area devices (<100μm diameter) directly off a planar chip have been achieved. The devices have been operated as subnanosecond pulsed sources to demonstrate their applicability to compact time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy.

Heteroepitaxy of AlGaN on bulk AlN substrates for deep ultraviolet light emitting diodes

The authors report the growth of AlGaN epilayers and deep ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LEDs) on bulk AlN substrates. Heteroepitaxial nucleation and strain relaxation are studied through controlled growth interruptions. Due to a low density of preexisting dislocations in bulk AlN, the compressive strain during AlGaN heteroepitaxy cannot be relieved effectively. The built-up of strain energy eventually induces either an elastic surface roughening or plastic deformation via generation and inclination of dislocations, depending on the stressor interlayers and growth parameters used. AlGaN LEDs on bulk AlN exhibit noticeable improvements in performance over those on sapphire, pointing to a promising substrate platform for III-nitride UV optoelectronics.

OMVPE growth and gas-phase reactions of AlGaN for UV emitters

Gas-phase parasitic reactions among TMG, TMA, and NH3, are investigated by monitoring of the growth rate/incorporation efficiency of GaN and AlN using an in-situ optical reflectometer. It is suggested that gas phase adduct (TMA: NH{sub 3}) reactions not only reduce the incorporation efficiency of TMA but also affect the incorporation behavior of TMGa. The observed phenomena can be explained by either a synergistic gas-phase scavenging effect or a surface site-blocking effect. Relatively low reactor pressures (30--50 Torr) are employed to grow an AlGaN/GaN QW p-n diode structure. The UV emission at 354 nm (FWHM {approximately} 6 nm) represents the first report of LED operation from an indium-free GaN QW diode.

A vertical cavity light emitting InGaN quantum well heterostructure

A method is described for fabricating a vertical cavity light emitting structure for nitride semiconductors. The process involves the separation of a InGaN/GaN/AlGaN quantum well heterostructure from its sapphire substrate an its enclosure by a pair of high reflectivity, low loss dielectric mirrors to define the optical resonator. We have demonstrated a cavity Q factor exceeding 600 in initial experiments, suggesting that the approach can be useful for blue and near ultraviolet resonant cavity light emitting diodes and vertical cavity lasers.

Gain characteristics of InGaN/GaN quantum well diode lasers

We have investigated spectroscopically the gain characteristics of InGaN quantum well (QW) diode lasers. While the transparency condition can be reached at a moderate current density, the filling of localized band-edge states is a prerequisite for achieving lasing in this profoundly nonrandom alloy.