The spectrally and temporally resolved luminescence of three-dimensional (3D) InGaN/GaN microrods and planar light emitting diode (LED) structures is studied for different energy densities of fs-laser excitation pulses and for different sample temperatures. We find an energy density threshold above which irreversible modifications of the structures take place, which leads to a decrease of the luminescence intensity and a change in the intensity ratio of the GaN to the InGaN luminescence. Due to the quantum confined Stark effect, a biexponential decay characteristic is found in the planar structure, while the 3D microrods with nonpolar InGaN quantum wells on their sidewalls show a monoexponential decay of the InGaN luminescence. For both structures, the decay of the luminescence becomes faster with increasing energy density per pulse. However, the luminescence of the planar LED decays faster with increasing temperature, while the opposite trend is found for the 3D sample.

Optical and structural properties of in situ Cu doped GaN thin films grown on sapphire substrates were optically investigated by means of Raman, photoluminescence (PL), and absorption spectroscopy. Different Cu concentrations in the films were analyzed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and found to vary from 2×1016 cm-3 to 5×1017 cm-3. Raman studies confirmed high crystalline quality of GaN:Cu with no major structural damages due to Cu incorporation. PL investigation revealed that the origin of the emission around 2.4 eV is most likely due to Cu incorporation. The electrical conductivity of the samples was analyzed by Hall measurements and the found semi-insulating behavior was assigned to the compensation of intrinsic donors by the deep Cu acceptor states.

Group III-nitride compound semiconductors (e.g. AlN-GaN-InN) have generated considerable interest for use in advanced optoelectronic device structures. The fabrication of multi-tandem solar cells, high-speed optoelectronics and solid state lasers operating at higher energy wavelengths will be made possible using (Ga1-y-xAlyInx)N heterostructures due to their robustness against radiation and the wide spectral application range. To date, the growth of indium rich (In1-xGax)N films and heterostructures remains a challenge, primarily due to the large thermal decomposition pressures in indium rich group III-nitride alloys at the optimum growth temperatures. In order to control the partial pressures during the growth process of InN and related alloys, a unique high-pressure chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) system with integrated real-time optical monitoring capabilities has been developed. We report initial results on InN layers grown at temperatures as high as ∼850°C with reactor pressures around 15 bar. Such process conditions are a major step towards the fabrication of indium rich group III-nitride heterostructures that are embedded in wide band gap group III-nitrides. Real-time optical characterization techniques are applied in order to study the gas phase kinetics and surface chemistry processes during the growth process.

For an ammonia to TMI precursor flow ratio below 500, multiple phases with sharp XRD features are observed. Structural analysis perform by Raman scattering techniques indicates that the E2 high mode improves as NH3:TMI ratio is decreased to below 500. Optical characterization of these InN layers indicates that the absorption edge shifts from down from 1.85 eV to 0.7 eV. This shift seems to be caused by a series of localized absorption centers that appear as the indium to nitrogen stoichiometry varies. This contribution will correlate the process parameters to results obtained by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and optical spectroscopy, in order to assess the InN film properties.

Dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS) show promise as materials that can exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature (RT). However, the nature of ferromagnetism in this material system must be well understood in order to allow intelligent design of RT spintronic devices. This work investigates the magnetic properties of the as-grown films and the effect of Mn incorporation on crystal integrity and device performance. Ga1-xMnxN films were grown by MOCVD on c-plane sapphire substrates with varying thickness and Mn concentration. Homogenous Mn incorporation throughout the films was verified with Secondary Ion Mass

Spectroscopy (SIMS), and no macroscopic second phases (MnxNy) were detected using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Superior crystalline quality in the MOCVD-grown films relative to Mn-implanted GaN epilayers was confirmed via Raman spectroscopy. Vibrating sample magnetometry measurements showed an apparent room temperature ferromagnetic hysteresis in the as-grown epiayers. Similarly, a marked decrease in the magnetization was observed with annealing and silicon doping, as well as in post-growth annealed Mg-codoped samples. The observed decrease in muB per Mn with increasing Mn concentration is explained by Raman spectroscopy results, which show a decrease in long-range lattice ordering and an increase in nitrogen vacancy concentration with increasing Mn concentration. Magnetic and electron-spin paramagnetic resonance (EPR) data also show that the position of the Fermi level relative to the Mn2+/3+ level is the determining factor in magnetization. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) containing a Mn-doped active region have also been produced. Devices were fabricated with different Mn-doped active layer thicknesses, and I-V characteristics show that the devices become more resistive as thickness of the Mn-doped active layer increases. The magnetic and structural properties observed in this work will be used in conjunction with characteristics and magneto-optical of the Mn-containing devices to discuss the theoretical models of ferromagnetism in Ga1-xMnxN

Quantum dots (QDs) have been shown to improve the efficiency and optical properties of opto- electronic devices compared to two dimensional quantum wells in the active region. The formation of self-assembled GaN nanostructures on aluminum nitride (AlN) grown on sapphire substrates by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor deposition (MOCVD) was explored. This paper reports on the effect of in-situ activation in nitrogen atmosphere on MOCVD grown GaN nanostructures. The effect of introducing manganese in these nanostructures was also studied. Optically active nanostructures were successfully obtained. A blue shift is observed in the photoluminescence data with a decrease in nanostructure size.

Dual Multi-Quantum Well (MQW) region light emitting diodes (LEDs) for efficient pumping of multiple phosphors have been grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), for use in broadband, white solid state light sources. Blue (460 nm) and Violet/UV (∼400–420 nm) emitting MQW regions were incorporated into one device and show recombination mechanisms similar to single MQW region devices. The introduction of a decoupling region successfully separated the electroluminescent emissions, and two distinct emission peaks were observed. These devices can be used to pump a variety of phosphors designed for blue and UV sources, allowing for more design flexibility in color rendering and color temperature attributes of solid state light sources.

The incorporation of Mn into GaMnN epilayers by MOCVD growth was investigated. Samples with high Mn concentrations lead to room temperature ferromagnetism. In addition an absorption band around 1.5 eV was observed. Intensity and linewidth of this band scaled with the Mn concentration and with the room temperature (RT) saturation magnetization. This band is assigned to the internal Mn3+ transition between the 5E and the partially filled 5T2 levels of the 5D state. The broadening of the absorption band is introduced by the high Mn concentration. Recharging of the Mn3+ to Mn2+ was found to effectively suppress these transitions resulting also in a significant reduction of the RT magnetization. The pronounced sensitivity of the relative position of the Fermi level and 1.5 eV absorption band can be used to predict the magnetization behavior of the Ga1−xMnxN epilayers. The absence of doping-induced strain was observed by Raman spectroscopy. The structural quality, the presence of Mn2+ ions were confirmed by EPR spectroscopy, meanwhile no Mn-Mn interactions were observed.

This paper reports the Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) growth of GaN nanostructures. The use of MOCVD allows the direct integration of these nanostructures into pre-existing device technology. The formation of GaN nanostructures grown on AlN epitaxial layers were studied as a function of growth temperature, growth rate, V-III ratio and the amount of deposited material. A wide range of temperatures from 800 °C to 1100 °C and V-III ratios from 30 to 3500 were applied to determine the optimal growth conditions for nucleation studies in a modified production reactor. Small GaN nanostructures with lateral dimensions below 50 nm and low aspect ratios were obtained using relatively low temperatures of 815 °C and extreme metal-rich growth conditions. Island densities up to 1010 cm−2 were achieved using silane as an anti-surfactant to increase the available nucleation sites. Manganese has been incorporated into these nanostructures to enhance the multifunctional ferromagnetic properties of GaMnN.

This paper reports the impact of the Mn incorporation on the structural and magnetic properties of Ga1−xMnxN on the metal-organic vapor phase deposition (MOCVD). Crystalline quality and phase purity were determined by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and indicated that no macroscopic second phases are formed during growth. Atomic force microscopy revealed a 2-dimensional MOCVD step-flow growth pattern in the Mn-incorporated samples. Various annealing steps were applied to some of the samples to reduce compensating defects and to investigate the effects of post processing on the growth. SQUID measurements showed an apparent ferromagnetic hysteresis behavior. However, none of the requirements for room temperature ferromagnetism in the prevailing mean field DMS theories were found. Therefore, different origins of the ferromagnetic signal are discussed.

This work initiates an investigation of molecular co-doping to produce p-type centers in (Ga,Al)N with ionization energies lower than Mg. Dopant complexes can be formed between a doubly ionized acceptor such as (Cu, Li or Ag) and a singly ionized donor (silicon). Ion implantation of Cu, Li and Ag into silicon doped GaN films grown by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) has been performed. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) data confirmed the simulated depth profile. High resolution X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the crystalline damage and subsequent recovery upon anneal. A complete recovery was observed after high temperature (700–900°C) annealing. Low temperature (6K) photoluminescence (PL) for Cu-implanted GaN showed bands identified with crystalline lattice damage due to the Cu-implantation. The annealed samples showed recovery of standard crystalline GaN features. Additional donor-acceptor pair features are observed below 3.35 eV indicating the existence of an acceptor state.