Here, we have demonstrated strong size dependency of quasi-equilibrium and nonequilibrium carrier and photon dynamics in InGaN/GaN single nanowalls using photoluminescence and transient absorption spectroscopy. We demonstrate that two-dimensional carrier confinement, strain relaxation, and modified density of states lead to a reduced Stokes shift, smaller full width at half-maxima, increased exciton binding energy, and reduced nonradiative recombination. The ultrafast transient spectroscopy shows that carrier capture is a two-step process dominated by optical phonons and carrier-carrier scattering in succession. The carrier capture is a strongly size-dependent process and becomes slower due to modulation of the density of available states for progressively decreasing nanowall sizes. The slowest process is the electron-hole recombination, which is also extremely size-dependent and the rate increases by almost an order of magnitude in comparison to that of quantum-well structures. Electron-hole wave function overlap and modified density of states are among the key aspects in determining all the properties of these structures.
Quantum dot (QD) is slated to play a significant role in quantum technologies through its usage as a single-photon source. It also has promising applications as efficient light emitters through strain-relaxed structures. This work demonstrates the fabrication of high-quality site controlled InGaN/GaN QDs through a large contribution of chemical etching in an otherwise reactive ion etching process. Uniform sized QDs with a hexagonal base and radii of 15 and 6 nm are fabricated and characterized by photoluminescence and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The natural exposition of the inherent hexagonal base is a signature of the reduced defects in these dots. The QDs show the intuitive additional quantum confinement due to size reduction, and the photoluminescence peaks manifest a blue shift. The absorption spectra indicate that the QDs are heavily strain-relaxed at smaller radii, and their characteristics as a function of size and pump power are investigated. The degree of strain relaxation and change in energy-band diagram as a function of position along the radius are also determined. The changes are prominent near the periphery, which creates a natural potential well for both electrons and holes, restricting the carriers from reaching the sidewalls. Femtosecond carrier dynamics indicate a lower capture rate for the smaller size of the dots, indicating excessive electrical or optical pumping will not necessarily lead to increased luminescence. The radiative decay of carriers is faster for strain-relaxed QDs due to higher oscillator strength originating from increased electron−hole wave function overlap. Higher pump power is found to decrease the radiative rate due to the increased effective size of the QDs and thereby reducing carrier injection density. This is in stark contrast to the frequently observed increased decay rate due to Auger recombination. Dynamic modification of the size of the QDs by pump power may find potential use in optoelectronic applications.
Here, we present an efficient 1D model to describe carrier confinement in GaN/InGaN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN core–shell nanostructures (CSNs) within the effective mass framework. A self-consistent procedure combined with hydrogenic model is implemented to estimate exciton binding energy in these CSNs, as a function of CSN dimensions, polarization charge and alloy composition. A 3-fold higher exciton binding energy in these CSNs than that in planar counterparts is attributed to an increased electron–hole overlap. The trend exhibited by the exciton binding energy with polarization charge and alloy composition in the two types of CSNs is significantly different, owing to a drastic difference in the piezoelectric polarizations. A detailed investigation of the steady-state and transient optical response from these CSNs suggests that GaN/InGaN/GaN CSNs emit a wide spectrum. However, that is not the case with AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN CSNs owing to a relatively weaker quantum confined Stark effect. This study is aimed at providing accurate design strategies for UV-blue III-N CSN light-emitting diodes.
Here we have demonstrated the profound impact of surface potential on the luminescence of an array of InGaN/GaN nano-disk in a wire heterostructure. The change in surface potential is brought about by a combination of dry and successive wet-processing treatments. The photoluminescence (PL) properties are determined as a function of size and height of this array of nano-disks. The observed characteristics are coherently explained by considering a change in quantum confinement induced by the change in surface potential, quantum-confined Stark effect, exciton binding energy and strain relaxation for varying surface potential. The change in hole bound state energy due to parabolic potential well near the side-wall is found to be the dominating factor. The PL peak position, full width at half-maximum, strain relaxation and integrated PL intensity are studied as a function of incident power and temperature. The devices demonstrate higher integrated PL intensity and slope efficiency.
III-V compound semiconductors laid the foundation for optoelectronic devices and solid-state lighting with wavelengths ranging from infrared to ultraviolet regions. Infrared to green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were invented in the early 1960s. [1][2][3] However, blue LEDs took another three decades to get established, considering the challenges in defect-free high-quality growth, [4][5][6] and controlled p-doping of wide-bandgap semiconductors. [7][8][9][10] The success of blue LEDs was accomplished by the development of gallium-nitride (GaN) alloyed with indium and aluminum in the late 1980s. [11,12] GaN and related materials have a wurtzite crystal structure and direct bandgap, making them ideal for bright LEDs and laser diodes (LDs). In order to move the emission wavelength to the visible range (2-3.4 eV), InN is alloyed with GaN. [13,14] Advancement in GaN-based LEDs revolutionized the white broadband lighting when laminated with yellow phosphorous coating. Nakamura et al. developed the first high-quality InGaN back in 1992, which paved the way for III-nitride blue and green LEDs/ LDs. [15] In 1995-1996, Nakamura made true blue LEDs possible by developing recombination regions with InGaN. [16] III-nitride devices acquire a wide area of applications due to their wavelength tunability by varying the alloy composition of In and Al in InGaN and AlGaN, respectively. [17,18] Moreover, an additional degree of freedom can be achieved using quantum-confined nanostructures. Emission wavelength and surface/interface material properties can be altered by reducing the dimensionality/size of the devices. [19][20][21] quantum well (QW; 2D), [22][23][24] vertical/lateral nanowires (1D), [25][26][27][28][29] and quantum dots (QDs; 0D) [30][31][32][33] are among the most important quantum-confined nanostructures used in the active regions of modern optoelectronic devices including LEDs, lasers, photodetectors, and solar cells. Improved internal quantum efficiency, [34][35][36] large surface-to-volume ratio, [37] low power
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.