Achieving high-power performance at long wavelengths has been a longstanding goal in the field of nitride LEDs, however it poses significant challenges. These include declining efficiency with increasing wavelength, undesired hue shifts with increasing current, and the difficulty of maintaining material quality while incorporating high indium compositions in quantum wells. In this work, I employ predictive modeling techniques to shed light on these hurdles, informing the design of devices that effectively overcome these obstacles. In particular, I will demonstrate how the efficiency-droop and hue-shift problems in the green spectral range are caused by an increase in the operating carrier density rather than material degradation. Then, I will discuss how progress towards longer red wavelengths is hindered by the difficulty in incorporating higher indium concentrations in quantum wells. To alleviate these issues, I explore the high-dimensional configurational landscape of quaternary III-nitride emitters using statistical-learning techniques, and identify promising designs that emit in the red spectral range.
The carrier dynamics in InGaN/GaN LEDs are directly tied to their efficiency and maximum modulation speed, which are important metrics for solid-state lighting, displays, and optical communication. We measure the carrier dynamics of nonpolar, semipolar, and commercial c-plane InGaN/GaN LEDs using small-signal electroluminescence methods. Rate equations and a small-signal circuit are used to model the carrier dynamics. The model is fit to the optical frequency response and input impedance of the LEDs to extract the carrier lifetimes and the recombination rates. The results offer insight into the underlying causes of efficiency droop and the green gap, and inform device design strategies.
III-Nitride based photonic crystals or metamaterials can operate in the visible and ultraviolet frequencies and are important for many nanophotonics applications. A key challenge in efficient operation of such III-nitride based optical nanostructures has been in creating a low refractive index interface cladding region between the high refractive index substrate GaN and the active layer due to a lack of compatible natural low index materials unlike those in Si and III-V systems. Here we will discuss achieving such optical substrate isolation in III-nitride nanophotonic devices using electrochemical and photo-electrochemical etching techniques [Opt. Mat. Exp. 2018, 8, 3543]. We will describe the fabrication of a GaN nanowire array utilizing this method of optical isolation and present the optical response to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Sandia National Laboratories is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525.
The unique growth conditions of BluGlass’ low growth temperature technology Remote Plasma Chemical Vapour Deposition (RPCVD) are capable of producing Activate As-Grown (AAG) buried p-GaN layers. This ability renders RPCVD a highly attractive technique to produce GaN-based Tunnel Junctions (TJ) without the complexities associated with the post-growth lateral activation steps required by MOCVD. In this paper we discuss the use of hybrid RPCVD/MOCVD TJs for MOCVD-grown ridge guide laser diode (LD) applications. The impact of both the structure and placement of the TJ on the total optical loss of the LD are investigated. TJs conforming to the strict compositional requirements in order to yield a net reduction in optical loss are demonstrated, paving the way to improved conversion efficiencies through the replacement of the highly resistive p-AlGaN cladding layers and p-type Ohmic contacts with lower resistance n-AlGaN cladding layers and n-type Ohmic contacts.
GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have drawn interest in recent years for their potential applications in data storage, laser printing, solid-state lighting, optical communications, sensing, and displays. Several research groups have demonstrated electrically injected GaN-based VCSELs utilizing different growth and fabrication techniques to address the many challenges associated with III-nitride materials. One such challenge is fabrication of highquality conductive epitaxial distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). A relatively new approach that yields high-index-contrast lattice-matched epitaxial DBRs is to introduce subwavelength air-voids (nanopores) in alternating layers of doped/undoped GaN. These nanoporous layers can be achieved by the controlled anodic electrochemical etching of highly doped n-type GaN in acids. The selective formation of the nanopores in the doped layers effectively lowers the refractive index compared to the adjacent undoped GaN layers, resulting in a refractive index difference of ~0.83, allowing high reflectance (>99%) with only ~16 pairs. Here, we will present electrically injected nonpolar m-plane GaN-based VCSELs with lattice-matched nanoporous GaN bottom DBRs and top dielectric DBRs. Lasing under pulsed operation at room temperature was observed at 409 nm with a linewidth of ~0.6 nm and a maximum output power of ~1.5 mW. The nonpolar m-plane orientation offers low transparency, high material gain, and anisotropic gain characteristics. The VCSELs were linearly polarized with a polarization ratio of ~0.94 and polarization-pinned emission along the a-direction. The mode profiles, thermal properties, and lasing yield of the VCSELs are also discussed.
The steady advance of nanotechnology from investigation to application and to manufacturing is increasing the demands on nanoscale metrology and lithography. As dimensions shrink to the nano-scale, the available metrologies, necessary for any advanced manufacturing process, become limited. Optical metrology faces resolution limits associated with the large size of the photon relative to the nanostructure. Interference techniques offer sub-wavelength resolution, but at the expense of experimental and signal processing complexity. Electron and ion microscopies (SEM, TEM, FIB, etc.) offer resolution but require high vacuum and are generally unavailable for in-line manufacturing applications. Scanning probe techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) are very attractive, yet, still unreliable to produce ideal results. For example, AFM, commercial tips are often pyramidal, resulting in significant artifacts requiring complex and uncertain deconvolution of the data. For STM and STL (scanning-tunneling lithography), amorphous/polycrystalline metal tips are the dominant commercial technology but are subject to erosion and wear. For NSOM, metal tips require a complex alignment - optical fibers offer an alternative but are difficult to combine with AFM and STM functionality.
To overcome to the above-mentioned problems, we have developed a single nanowire probe systems, based on single crystal III-N semiconductors. Uniform GaN nanowire arrays, formed thought a combination of wet and dry etch of MOCVD GaN films, were achieved over a large area (>105 μm2) with an aspect ratio as large as 50, a radius as small as 17 nm, and atomic-scale sidewall roughness (<1 nm), allowing metrology of vertical structures with no artifact correction. Doping, during MOCVD film growth, controlled the conductivity of the GaN. Studies of the etching mechanism for different doping level are also reported. Optical emission properties of the 65 nm radius and 2 micron length GaN, mounted on an AFM tip shows a lasing at 365 nm with a line width of 0.15 nm and a Q-factor of 1139-2443.
Our results show that fabrication of high-quality GaN nanowire arrays with adaptable aspect ratio and large-area uniformity is feasible through a top-down approach using interferometric lithography and is promising for fabrication of III-nitride-based nanophotonic devices (radial/axial) on the original substrate. Indeed we will also present the state of the art results of these nanowires in AFM and STM metrology as well in field emission and scanning tunneling lithography and NSOM and demonstrate as, such a single wide-bandgap tip technology offers the functionality and versatility of several incumbent technologies in one single, universal, system.
The increasing demand for wireless data communication and popularity of solid-state lighting has prompted research into visible-light communication (VLC) systems using GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). VLC is a promising candidate for next-generation (5G and beyond) network systems. To support multi-Gb/s data rates, VLC systems will require efficient LEDs with large modulation bandwidths. Conventional lighting-class LEDs cannot achieve high-speed operation due to their large chip size, large active region volume, and phosphor-converted output. Conversely, micro-scale LEDs (micro-LEDs) offer a viable path to high-speed operation. Furthermore, conventional c-plane LEDs suffer from polarization-related electric fields, which reduce the overlap between the electron and hole wave functions and lower the carrier recombination rate. Since modulation bandwidth is proportional to the carrier recombination rate, the overlap between the wave functions should be maximized for high-speed operation. Nonpolar and semipolar orientations have significantly reduced polarization effects and wave function overlaps approaching unity. These orientations can enable high-efficiency LEDs with simultaneously large modulation bandwidths. In this work, we introduce VLC and discuss progress on the growth, fabrication, and characterization of high-speed micro-LEDs. Polar (0001), nonpolar (10-10), and semipolar (20-2-1) InGaN/GaN micro-LEDs on free-standing GaN substrates are investigated for their small-signal modulation characteristics as a function of current density, temperature, device area, and active region design. Record modulation bandwidths above 1 GHz are achieved for the nonpolar and semipolar orientations. We also present a small-signal method for determining the RC characteristics, differential carrier lifetime, carrier escape lifetime, and injection efficiency of the LEDs under electrical injection.
GaN is an attractive material for high-power electronics due to its wide bandgap and large breakdown field. Verticalgeometry devices are of interest due to their high blocking voltage and small form factor. One challenge for realizing complex vertical devices is the regrowth of low-leakage-current p-n junctions within selectively defined regions of the wafer. Presently, regrown p-n junctions exhibit higher leakage current than continuously grown p-n junctions, possibly due to impurity incorporation at the regrowth interfaces, which consist of c-plane and non-basal planes. Here, we study the interfacial impurity incorporation induced by various growth interruptions and regrowth conditions on m-plane p-n junctions on free-standing GaN substrates. The following interruption types were investigated: (1) sample in the main MOCVD chamber for 10 min, (2) sample in the MOCVD load lock for 10 min, (3) sample outside the MOCVD for 10 min, and (4) sample outside the MOCVD for one week. Regrowth after the interruptions was performed on two different samples under n-GaN and p-GaN growth conditions, respectively. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis indicated interfacial silicon spikes with concentrations ranging from 5e16 cm-3 to 2e18 cm-3 for the n-GaN growth conditions and 2e16 cm-3 to 5e18 cm-3 for the p-GaN growth conditions. Oxygen spikes with concentrations ~1e17 cm-3 were observed at the regrowth interfaces. Carbon impurity levels did not spike at the regrowth interfaces under either set of growth conditions. We have correlated the effects of these interfacial impurities with the reverse leakage current and breakdown voltage of regrown m-plane p-n junctions.
We have developed an ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) texturing process for biaxially aligned films as substrates for GaN epitaxy. The IBAD process enables low-cost, large-area flexible metal foil substrates to be used as potential alternatives to single-crystal sapphire and silicon for GaN electronic devices. Epitaxial GaN films are grown by the MOCVD process on these engineered flexible substrates. We have achieved epi GaN films of several microns on polycrystalline metal foils that have in-plane and out-of-plane alignment of less than 1° FWHM and typical threading dislocation densities of 4-8 x 10^8/cm^2.
We use the epitaxial GaN films on IBAD/polycrystalline metal foil as a template to deposit epitaxial multi-quantum well light emitting diode (LED) InGaN structures. From these layered structures we have successfully fabricated LED devices. These are the first LED devices fabricated directly on metal foil. We observe photoluminescence intensities from the LED structures up to 70% of those fabricated on sapphire. We will present data on performance of such devices and how these LED devices could be printed using a roll-to-roll process.
This work was supported by the Department of Energy ARPA-E agency.
In this study we introduce Gallium Nitride (GaN) nanowire (NW) as high aspect ratio tip with excellent durability for nano-scale metrology. GaN NWs have superior mechanical property and young modulus compare to commercial Si and Carbon tips which results in having less bending issue during measurement. The GaN NWs are prepared via two different methods: i) Catalyst-free selected area growth, using Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), ii) top-down approach by employing Au nanoparticles as the mask material in dry-etch process. To achieve small diameter tips, the semipolar planes of the NWs grown by MOCVD are etched using AZ400k. The diameter of the NWs fabricated using the top down process is controlled by using different size of nanoparticles and by Inductively Coupled Plasma etching. NWs with various diameters were manipulated on Si cantilevers using Focus Ion Beam (FIB) to make tips for AFM measurement. A Si (110) substrate containing nano-scale grooves with vertical 900 walls were used as a sample for inspection. AFM measurements were carried out in tapping modes for both types of nanowires (top-down and bottom-up grown nanowires) and results are compared with conventional Si and carbon nanotube tips. It is shown our fabricated tips are robust and have improved edge resolution over conventional Si tips. GaN tips made with NW’s fabricated using our top down method are also shown to retain the gold nanoparticle at tip, which showed enhanced field effects in Raman spectroscopy.
The growth of ordered arrays of group III-nitride nanostructures on c-plane gallium nitride (GaN) on sapphire using selective-area metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is presented. The growth of these nanostructures promotes strain relaxation that allows the combination of high indium content active regions with very low dislocation densities and also gives access to nonpolar and semipolar crystallographic orientations of GaN. The influence of the starting template and the growth conditions on the growth rate and morphology is discussed. The growth of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) active region shells on these nanostructures is discussed and the stability of various crystallographic orientations under typical growth conditions is studied. Finally, the effect of the growth conditions on the morphology of pyramidal stripe LEDs is discussed and preliminary results on electrical injection of these LEDs are presented.
Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) offer distinct advantages over conventional edge-emitting lasers, including lower power consumption, single-longitudinal-mode operation, circularly symmetric output beams, waferlevel testing, and the ability to form densely packed, two-dimensional arrays. High-performance GaN-based VCSELs are well suited for applications in high-density optical data storage, high-resolution printing, lighting, displays, projectors, miniature atomic clocks, and chemical/biological sensing. Thus far, the performance of these devices has been limited by challenges associated with the formation of high-reflectance distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs), optical mode confinement, carrier transport, lateral current spreading, polarization-related electric fields, and cavity-length control. This manuscript discusses the state-of-the-art results for electrically injected GaN-based VCSELs and reviews approaches to overcome the key challenges currently preventing higher performance devices. The manuscript also describes the development of nonpolar GaN-based VCSELs on free-standing GaN. Nonpolar orientations exhibit anisotropic optical gain within the quantum well plane and uniquely enable VCSELs with a well-defined and stable polarization state. In addition, a detailed description of a band-gap-selective photoelectrochemical etching (BGS PECE) process for substrate removal and fine cavity length control on free-standing GaN substrates is provided.
Metallic metamaterial structures are used in nanophotonics applications in order to localize and enhance an incident
electromagnetic field. We have theoretically and experimentally studied resonant coupling between plasmonic modes of
an SRR array and a quantum dot-in-a-well (DWELL) heterostructure. The near-field distribution from the SRRs on the
GaAs substrate was first modeled by electromagnetic simulations and optimized SRR dimensions for maximum nearfield
coupling at the peak absorption were extracted. The DWELL sample with a ground state emission peak at 1240 nm
was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate. The sample was uniformly covered with an
array of SRRs, and patterned by standard electron-beam-lithography. In order to study the near field coupling of the
plasmonic structure into the DWELL, optical characterization was performed on the SRR-DWELL heterostructure,
including room temperature photoluminescence, and transmission measurement.
Nonpolar and semipolar orientations of gallium nitride offer several advantages for vertical-cavity surface-emitting
lasers (VCSELs), including enhanced radiative efficiencies and higher optical gain compared to c-plane oriented
VCSELs. Additionally, anisotropic gain within the quantum well plane should result in a consistent and well-defined
polarization direction of the emission in nonpolar and semipolar VCSELs. We report the first known electricallyinjected
nonpolar m-plane GaN VCSELs, operating under pulsed injection at room temperature. As predicted, m-plane
GaN VCSELs exhibit polarization locking, with the polarization direction consistently oriented along the a-direction of
the wurtzite crystal structure. We also report a novel fabrication method, utilizing photoelectrochemical etching of a
sacrificial InGaN region for substrate removal and cavity length definition. This method allows for the use of dielectric
DBR mirrors with freestanding GaN substrates, while maintaining precise control of cavity length by placement of the
sacrificial layer during epitaxial growth. Initial device results include a wavelength of 411.9 nm with a FWHM of 0.25
nm and a maximum observed power output of 19.5 uW. Devices exhibit polarization ratios higher than .7 above
threshold (with no additional measures taken to account for spontaneous emission or to reduce collection of scattered
light).
We present state-of-the-art performance from green, blue, and violet InGaN-based laser diodes fabricated on nonpolar
and semipolar GaN substrates. Using these novel crystal orientations, we demonstrate high power, high efficiency,
continuous-wave operation from single-lateral-mode electrically pumped laser diodes at wavelengths from 405 nm to
500 nm. Additionally, we present the longest reported continuous-wave lasing demonstration of 525 nm and an output
power of over 9 mW at 521 nm. Wall-plug efficiencies of over 25% in the violet region, 17.5% in the blue region, over
5% at 472nm, and 2.2% in the 500 nm range are reported. These InGaN-based devices offer dramatic improvement in
size, weight, and cost over conventional gas and solid state lasers and may enable a variety of new applications in
defense and security.
We present new advances in green, blue, and violet InGaN-based laser diodes fabricated on nonpolar and semipolar GaN
substrates. Using these novel crystal orientations, we report high power, high efficiency, continuous-wave operation
from single-lateral-mode electrically pumped laser diodes at wavelengths from 405 nm to 500 nm. Additionally, we
present continuous-wave lasing demonstrations out to 523 nm, representing the longest continuous-wave green laser
emission reported to date. Wall-plug efficiencies of over 25% in the violet region, 16.2% in the blue region, and 2.2% in
the 500 nm range are presented. These InGaN-based devices offer dramatic improvement in size, weight, and cost over
conventional gas or solid state lasers and may enable a variety of new applications in defense, biomedical, industrial, and
consumer projection displays.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.