Molecular Beam Epitaxial Growth and Device Characterization of AlGaN Nanowire Ultraviolet-B Light-Emitting Diodes (original) (raw)

Fabrication of Phosphor-Free III-Nitride Nanowire Light-Emitting Diodes on Metal Substrates for Flexible Photonics

In this paper, we report our study on high-performance III-nitride nanowire light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on copper (Cu) substrates via the substrate-transfer process. Nanowire LED structures were first grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Subsequently, the SOI substrate was removed by combining dry-and wet-etching processes. Compared to conventional nanowire LEDs on Si, the nanowire LEDs on Cu exhibit several advantages, including more efficient thermal management and enhanced light-extraction efficiency (LEE) because of the usage of metal reflectors and highly thermally conductive metal substrates. The LED on Cu, therefore, has stronger photoluminescence, electroluminescence intensities, and better current−voltage characteristics compared to the conventional nanowire LED on Si. Our simulation results further confirm the improved device performance of LEDs on Cu, compared to LEDs on Si. The LEE of the nanowire LED on Cu is nine times higher than that of the LED on Si at the same nanowire radius of 60 nm and spacing of 130 nm. Moreover, by engineering the device-active region, we achieved high-brightness phosphor-free LEDs on Cu with highly stable white-light emission and high color-rendering index of ∼95, showing their promising applications in general lighting, flexible displays, and wearable applications.

Effects of optical absorption in deep ultraviolet nanowire light-emitting diodes

Please cite this article in press as: M. Djavid, et al., Effects of optical absorption in deep ultraviolet nanowire light-emitting diodes, Photon Nanostruct: Fundam Appl (2017), https://doi. a b s t r a c t We report our study on the effect of optical absorption in nanowire ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using three-dimensional finite difference time domain simulation. Utilizing nanowire structures can avoid the emission of guided modes inside LED structure and redirect the trapped light into radiated modes. The optical loss due to material absorption can be decreased by reducing light propagation path inside the LED structure, and consequently enhance the light extraction efficiency (LEE). Nanowire form factors including size, and density play important roles on the LEE of ultraviolet (UV) nanowire LEDs. In this paper, the nanowire spacing and diameter are considered in simulation to reach maximum LEE. Our results show an unprecedentedly high LEE of ∼34% can be achieved for deep UV emission at 240 nm. Moreover, UV nanowire LEDs with random structure can exhibit LEE of ∼19% which is comparable or higher than that of high efficiency UV thin-film LEDs. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Engineering the Carrier Dynamics of InGaN Nanowire White Light-Emitting Diodes by Distributed p-AlGaN Electron Blocking Layers

Scientific reports, 2015

We report on the demonstration of a new type of axial nanowire LED heterostructures, with the use of self-organized InGaN/AlGaN dot-in-a-wire core-shell nanowire arrays. The large bandgap AlGaN shell is spontaneously formed on the sidewall of the nanowire during the growth of AlGaN barrier of the quantum dot active region. As such, nonradiative surface recombination, that dominates the carrier dynamics of conventional axial nanowire LED structures, can be largely eliminated, leading to significantly increased carrier lifetime from ~0.3 ns to 4.5 ns. The luminescence emission is also enhanced by orders of magnitude. Moreover, the p-doped AlGaN barrier layers can function as distributed electron blocking layers (EBLs), which is found to be more effective in reducing electron overflow, compared to the conventional AlGaN EBL. The device displays strong white-light emission, with a color rendering index of ~95. An output power of >5 mW is measured for a 1 mm × 1 mm device, which is mo...

Reports on Progress in Physics Optoelectronic device physics and technology of nitride semiconductors from the UV to the terahertz

This paper reviews the device physics and technology of optoelectronic devices based on semiconductors of the GaN family, operating in the spectral regions from deep UV to Terahertz. Such devices include LEDs, lasers, detectors, electroabsorption modulators and devices based on intersubband transitions in AlGaN quantum wells (QWs). After a brief history of the development of the field, we describe how the unique crystal structure, chemical bonding, and resulting spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations in heterostructures affect the design, fabrication and performance of devices based on these materials. The heteroepitaxial growth and the formation and role of extended defects are addressed. The role of the chemical bonding in the formation of metallic contacts to this class of materials is also addressed. A detailed discussion is then presented on potential origins of the high performance of blue LEDs and poorer performance of green LEDs (green gap), as well as of the efficiency reduction of both blue and green LEDs at high injection current (efficiency droop). The relatively poor performance of deep-UV LEDs based on AlGaN alloys and methods to address the materials issues responsible are similarly addressed. Other devices whose state-of-the-art performance and materials-related issues are reviewed include violet-blue lasers, 'visible blind' and 'solar blind' detectors based on photoconductive and photovoltaic designs, and electroabsorption modulators based on bulk GaN or GaN/AlGaN QWs. Finally, we describe the basic physics of intersubband transitions in AlGaN QWs, and their applications to near-infrared and terahertz devices.

Phosphor-free III-nitride nanowire white-light-emitting diodes for visible light communication

Phosphor-free InGaN/AlGaN core-shell nanowire light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been developed and their application in visible light communication (VLC) has been investigated. The electroluminescence spectra of these nanowire LEDs show a very broad spectral linewidth and fully covers the entire visible spectrum. High-brightness phosphor-free LEDs with highly stable white-light emission and high color-rendering index (CRI) of >98 were obtained by controlling the Indium composition in the device active region. Moreover, the phosphor-free nanowire white-LEDs exhibit relatively high 3-dB frequency bandwidth of ~ 1.4 MHz which is higher compared to that of phosphor-based white LEDs at the same measurement condition. Such high-performance phosphor-free nanowire LEDs are being further improved and are ideally suited for future smart lighting applications and communications.

Graphene Reinforced Composites as Efficient Thermal Interface Materials

The power dissipated in computer chips has been growing with each new technology node reaching unsustainable levels. In such a situation, the search for materials that conducts heat well and fast became essential for design of the next generations of integrated circuits (ICs) and three-dimensional (3D) electronics [1]. Efficient thermal management of electronics, optoelectronics and photonic devices require better thermal interface materials (TIMs). Current TIMs are based on polymers or greases filled with thermally conductive particles such as silver or silica, which require high volume fractions of filler (up to 70%) to achieve K of ~1-5 W/mK of the composite. Carbon materials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been studied as possible fillers in TIMs. Theoretical and cost considerations suggest that chemically derived graphene and few-layer graphene (FLG) flakes can perform better than other carbon materials in TIMs. It was discovered that the intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene is extremely high [2]. At the same time, thermal properties of graphene flakes in the composites will be determined by the flake size, thickness, and coupling to the matrix material. We report the results of the experimental investigation of thermal properties of the graphene reinforced composite materials. The TIM samples were produced using the chemically derived graphene and FLG flakes. The number of atomic planes in FLG flakes was determined with the micro-Raman spectroscopy [3]. Thermal properties of the resulting graphene-epoxy composites were measured with the “laser flash” and “hot disk” thermal conductivity techniques. The thermal conductivity enhancement factor exceeded ~ 2300% at 10% of the volume loading fraction. To achieve such strong enhancement with the conventional filler materials one would need a loading fraction of ~70%. The computer simulations of thermal properties of TIM composites carried out using the modified effective medium approximation, which included the thermal boundary resistance effects, were in agreement with our experimental data. Our results suggest that graphene and FLG flakes can become excellent filler materials in the next generation of TIMs. The work at UCR was supported, in part, by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) award on Graphene Quilts for Thermal Management of HighPower Density Electronics and DARPA – SRC through the FCRP Center on Functional Engineered Nano Architectonics (FENA).