An AlGaN ultraviolet-B laser diode at 298 nm was realized at room temperature using pulse operation. The laser diode has a lattice-relaxed Al0.6Ga0.4N layer from the underlying AlN/sapphire template and a composition-graded p-AlGaN cladding layer. The multimodal laser spectrum with proper polarization properties at 298 nm was obtained over the threshold current at 0.90 A corresponding to 67 kA cm–2. By broadening the width of the p-electrode to 11.5 μm, the threshold current density decreased to 41 kA cm–2.

In this paper, we investigated the dependence of threshold power density on the Al0.55Ga0.45N underlying layer film thickness in ultraviolet-B band (UV-B) lasers on various AlN wafers (four types). We also prepared and compared AlN templates for AlN freestanding substrates, AlN films fabricated by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, and annealed sputtered AlN templates at high temperature. The initial growth of AlGaN became three-dimensional by inserting a homoepitaxial Ga-doped AlN layer between the AlN template and Al0.55Ga0.45N, before it shifted to two-dimensional growth. It is possible to reduce the dislocation in Al0.55Ga0.45N using this mode. The dependence of AlGaN film thickness and that of the AlN template on samples with an inserted homoepitaxial Ga-doped AlN layer were studied. Compared with Al0.55Ga0.45N having a thickness of 5 μm, there was almost no noticeable difference between the dark spot density characterized by cathodoluminescence and the threshold power density in UV-B lasers for the AlN template. Besides, the characteristics were noticeably different for the film thickness of Al0.55Ga0.45N. The threshold power density in UV-B laser and dark spot density were reduced by increasing the film thickness. Through the optimization of the crystal growth condition, the threshold power density in UV-B laser and dark spot density were reduced to 36 kW cm−2 and 7.5 × 108 cm−2, respectively.

Aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN)-based ultraviolet-B band laser diodes (LDs) with a p-type AlGaN cladding layer using polarization doping were fabricated on lattice-relaxed Al0.6Ga0.4N/AlN/sapphire. The threshold current density Jth and lasing wavelength of this LD were 25 kA cm−2 and 298 nm, respectively. The internal loss (αi) was estimated by means of a variable stripe length method using optical excitation. The αi value of this LD was relatively low (i.e. <10 cm−1), thus suggesting that the device is characterized by both, proper light confinement and low internal loss.

In this study, we investigated laser characteristics via photoexcitation and electro-optical characteristics via current injection in ultraviolet (UV)-B laser diodes. To achieve light confinement and high current injection, an Al composition-graded 260-nm thick p-type Al0.9→0.45Ga0.1→0.55N cladding layer was designed, which exhibited a calculated light confinement factor of 3.5%. Laser oscillation with a threshold at 275 kW/cm2 at 297 nm was obtained via the photoexcited measurement. A prototype device for current injection was designed using the p-Al0.9→0.45Ga0.1→0.55N cladding layer and an additional Al composition-graded 75-nm thick p-type Al0.45→0Ga0.55→1N layer for the p-type contact layer. The maximum current density in the device reached 41.2 kA/cm2, which is the highest ever reported value among light-emitting devices operating in the UVB and ultraviolet-C regions. The peak wavelength of the emission spectrum obtained from the mirror facet was 300 nm, corresponding to the double quantum wells, without any significant droop. Further, a subpeak emission at 275 nm was observed, which is likely caused by the waveguide layer by electron overflow.

We investigated the etching rate of the m-plane of AlGaN by wet etching with tetramethylammonium hydroxide aqueous solutions (25 wt%, 85 °C). After dry etching was performed along the m-plane of AlGaN, wet etching was performed to stably form the m-plane facet of AlGaN. Also, the etching rate increases as the increased AlN molar fraction. In the case of forming a heterojunction such as a UV light-emitting diode, by performing wet etching for 5 min, the flat m-plane facets were formed even though there was a large dependence in AlN molar fraction. These facets were almost vertical and flat with respect to the c-plane, so it has the potential for the use as laser mirror. Also, no change in current density-voltage characteristics was confirmed after the wet etching. Therefore, this method is effective for deep UV laser diode fabrication technology on sapphire substrate.