Glucose-derived water-soluble crystalline graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with an average diameter as small as 1.65 nm (∼5 layers) were prepared by a facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The GQDs exhibits deep ultraviolet (DUV) emission of 4.1 eV, which is the shortest emission wavelength among all the solution-based QDs. The GQDs exhibit typical excitation wavelength-dependent properties as expected in carbon-based quantum dots. However, the emission wavelength is independent of the size of the GQDs. The unique optical properties of the GQDs are attributed to the self-passivated layer on the surface of the GQDs as revealed by electron energy loss spectroscopy. The photoluminescence quantum yields of the GQDs were determined to be 7-11%. The GQDs are capable of converting blue light into white light when the GQDs are coated onto a blue light emitting diode.

Material that can emit broad spectral wavelengths covering deep ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared is highly desirable. It can lead to important applications such as broadband modulators, photodetectors, solar cells, bioimaging, and fiber communications. However, there is currently no material that meets such desirable requirement. Here, we report the layered structure of nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) which possess broadband emission ranging from 300 to >1000 nm. The broadband emission is attributed to the layered structure of the N-GQDs that contains a large conjugated system and provides extensive delocalized π electrons. In addition, a broadband photodetector with responsivity as high as 325 V/W is demonstrated by coating N-GQDs onto interdigital gold electrodes. The unusual negative photocurrent is observed which is attributed to the trapping sites induced by the self-passivated surface states in the N-GQDs.

Deep UV photoluminescence spectroscopy has been employed to study the optical properties of AlxGa1−xN alloys (0⩽x⩽1). The emission intensity with polarization of E⊥c and the degree of polarization were found to decrease with increasing x. This is a consequence of the fact that the dominant band edge emission in GaN (AlN) is with polarization of E⊥c(E∥c). Our experimental results suggest that the decreased emission efficiency in AlxGa1−xN alloys and related UV emitters could also be related with their unique polarization property, i.e., the intensity of light emission with polarization of E⊥c decreases with x. It is thus concluded that UV emitters with AlGaN alloys as active layers have very different properties from InGaN and other semiconductor emitters.

With a recently developed unique deep ultraviolet picoseconds time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy system and improved growth technique, we are able to determine the detailed band structure near the Γ point of wurtzite (WZ) AlN with a direct band gap of 6.12 eV. Combined with first-principles band structure calculations we show that the fundamental optical properties of AlN differ drastically from that of GaN and other WZ semiconductors. The discrepancy in energy band gap values of AlN obtained previously by different methods is explained in terms of the optical selection rules in AlN and is confirmed by measurement of the polarization dependence of the excitonic PL spectra.

We present results on enhancement of 460 nm blue and 340 nm UV optical power output in III-nitride light emitting diodes (LEDs) using photonic crystals (PCs) under current injection. Triangular arrays of the PCs with diameter/periodicity of 300/700 nm were patterned using electron-beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma dry etching. The total power at 20 mA of 300×300 μm2 unpackaged LED chips revealed an increase by 63% and 95% for the blue and UV LEDs, respectively, as a result of the PC formation. Possible ways for further improving enhancement of light extraction using PCs are discussed.