InGaN/GaN disk-in-nanowire heterostructures on silicon substrates have emerged as important gain media for the realization of visible light sources. The nature of quantum confinement in the disks is largely unknown. From the unique nature of the measured temperature dependence of the radiative lifetime and direct transmission electron microscopy, it is evident that such self-organized islands (disks) behave as quantum dots. This is confirmed by the observation of single photon emission from a single disk-in-nanowire and the presence of a sharp minimum in the line width enhancement factor of edge emitting lasers having the InGaN disks as the gain media.
This study examines the role of the microstructure and optical properties of InGaN/GaN nanowire LED structures on Si(111) having different nanowire coverages. Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements show that all samples exhibit broad emission around the intended energy, 1.95 eV (635 nm). While the absolute emission intensity is hard to compare for CL measurement, the bandgap emission (∼3.4 eV) coming from the GaN root is more pronounced as coverage of nanowires decreases, which has less coalescence formation. The width of the emission peak is likely due to variations in the morphology of the InGaN discs within the wires, as faceted layers with different thicknesses and quantum dots are observed by transmission electron microscopy. Nonepitaxial six-fold symmetric lateral branching, called "nanocrowns," emanate from stacking faults within the active regions. These features likely reduce optical emission as a result of grain boundaries between the nanocrown and nanowire.
InGaN/GaN self-organized quantum dots can provide useful advantages over quantum wells for the realization of long-wavelength visible light sources because the dots are formed by strain relaxation. A III–nitride based laser emitting in the red (λ ∼ 630 nm), which has not been demonstrated with quantum wells, would be useful for a host of applications. We have investigated the epitaxy and characteristics of self-organized InGaN/GaN multiple layer quantum dots grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and have optimized their properties by tuning the growth parameters. Red-emitting (λ ∼ 630 nm) quantum dots have radiative lifetime ∼2.5 ns and internal quantum efficiency greater than 50%. Edge-emitting red-lasers with multi-dot layers in the active region exhibit an extremely low threshold current density of 1.6 kA/cm2, a high temperature coefficient T
0 = 240 K, and a large differential gain dg/dn = 9 × 10−17 cm2.
Compositional inhomogeneities in III-V alloys heavily influence the device performance. This work presents evidence for Ga droplets inducing inhomogeneities in the Bi composition, which we propose is due to a variation in the Ga flux across the surface. These inhomogeneities may be manipulated through the use of growth interrupts, which eliminate the buildup of Ga at the growth front.
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