0000000000034688
AUTHOR
Martin Stutzmann
Photoluminescence of Ga-face AlGaN/GaN single heterostructures
Abstract The radiative recombination in Ga-face Al 0.30 Ga 0.70 N/GaN single heterostructures (SHs) was studied by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. An energy shift of the excitonic transitions toward higher energies was observed, indicating the presence of residual compressive strain in the GaN layer. In addition to these exciton lines, a broad band energetically localized between the exciton lines and the LO-phonon replica was noticed in the undoped SH. From its energy position, excitation power dependence, as well as temperature behaviour, we have attributed this luminescence to the H -band (HB), which is representative of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) recombination.
Excitonic Transitions in Homoepitaxial GaN
The photoluminescence spectrum of a high quality homoepitaxial GaN film has been measured as a function of temperature. As temperature increases the recombination of free excitons dominates the spectra. Their energy shift has successfully fitted in that temperature range by means of the Bose-Einstein expression instead of Varshni's relationship. Values for the parameters of both semi-empirical relations describing the energy shift are reported and compared with the literature.
Purification of Nano-Porous Silicon for Biomedical Applications
Recently, various bio-medical applications of nanoporous silicon (np-Si) have been suggested. This work investigates the biocompatibility of np-Si particles taking into account hazardous residua confined in the pores after preparation. The emphasis is on the potential application of such particles as oxygen photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy of cancer, which requires both negligible toxicity of np-Si particles in darkness and a high photo-cyto-toxic effect due to generation of singlet oxygen under illumination. Considerable amounts of water soluble toxic impurities are found to be present in the nanoporous shell of micrometer-sized np-Si particles immediately after their preparation b…
Two‐Dimensional Electron Gas Effects on the Photoluminescence from a Nonintentionally Doped AlGaN/GaN Heterojunction
Photoluminescence measurements on an AlGaN/GaN single heterojunction (SH), where piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization effects confine a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), are presented. Well-defined emissions between the bulk excitonic transitions and their LO-phonon replica are attributed to spatially indirect excitons located close to the interface. The strong interfacial electric field separates photogenerated holes and electrons, weakening their Coulomb interaction and causing a blueshift with increasing excitation intensity due to carrier population effects. In addition, direct experimental proof is obtained by applying an electric field normal to the interface. An energy shift…
Optical characterization of Mg-doped GaN films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor phase deposition
Scanning electron microscopy, micro-Raman, and photoluminescence (PL) measurements are reported for Mg-doped GaN films grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor phase deposition. The surface morphology, structural, and optical properties of GaN samples with Mg concentrations ranging from 1019 to 1021 cm−3 have been studied. In the scanning micrographs large triangular pyramids are observed, probably due to stacking fault formation and three-dimensional growth. The density and size of these structures increase with the amount of magnesium incorporated in the samples. In the photoluminescence spectra, intense lines were found at 3.36 and 3.31 eV on the tr…
Photoluminescence study of excitons in homoepitaxial GaN
High-resolution photoluminescence spectra have been measured in high-quality homoepitaxial GaN grown on a free-standing GaN substrate with lower residual strain than in previous work. Unusually strong and well-resolved excitonic lines were observed. Based on free- and bound exciton transitions some important GaN parameters are derived. The Arrhenius plot of the free A exciton recombination yields a binding energy of 24.7 meV. Based on this datum, an accurate value for the band-gap energy, EG(4.3 K) = 3.506 eV, can be given. From the donor bound excitons and their “two-electron” satellites, the exciton localization energy and donor ionization energy are deduced. Finally, estimates of the ele…
Strain effects and phonon-plasmon coupled modes in Si-doped AlN
The E 2h and A 1 (LO) phonon modes of AlN films grown on sapphire are analyzed by Raman scattering as a function of silicon doping for concentrations covering from 5.5 x 10 19 cm ―3 to 5.2 x 10 21 cm ―3 . For high doping levels the appearance of a mode around 520 cm ―1 indicates the precipitation of crystalline silicon in the samples and its inhomogeneous incorporation to the AlN layer. The frequency of this mode shifts to lower energies with doping, indicating that the silicon crystals are embedded in the AlN lattice and under tensile strain. On the other hand, the AlN phonon modes are blue-shifted due to the compressive strain as a result of the silicon incorporation. This strain is parti…
Residual strain effects on the two-dimensional electron gas concentration of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures
Ga-face AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with different sheet carrier concentrations have been studied by photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. Compared to bulk GaN, an energy shift of the excitonic emission lines towards higher energies was observed, indicating the presence of residual compressive strain in the GaN layer. This strain was confirmed by the shift of the E2 Raman line, from which biaxial compressive stresses ranging between 0.34 and 1.7 GPa were deduced. The spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations for each layer of the heterostructures have been also calculated. The analysis of these quantities clarified the influence of the residual stress on the sheet electron concentratio…
Study of inversion domain pyramids formed during the GaN:Mg growth
AbstractThestudyofstructuraldefectsinducedbytheintroductionofMgduringthegrowthofMOCVDGaNispresented.Themagnesiumincorporationintothecrystalgrowthnotonlyinduceschangesinthestackingsequencefromhex-agonaltocubicstructures,butalsoinvertstheGaNpolarityfromGa-facetoN-face.Basedonthedifferentsurfacestructureandsurfacemigrationlengthofabsorbingprecursorsforeachpolaritytype(Ga-orN-face),the3DgrowthontopoftheN-facetriangulardefectisdescribed.TheN-facematerialischaracterizedbythreedanglingbondsofni-trogenthatpointuptowardthec-planesurface,enhancingthecrystalgrowthalongthec-axis. 2002ElsevierScienceLtd.Allrightsreserved. Keywords:Inversiondomain;Stackingfault;Polarity 1. IntroductionFurther progress tow…
Optical study of gallium and nitrogen polarity layers of GaN grown on sapphire
A confocal Raman spectroscopic study was carried out on either side of an intentionally grown GaN inversion domain boundary between a pair of strips with opposite (Ga- or N-) polarity. It is shown that the Raman spectra on the N-polarity side displays an A1(TO) mode, prohibited by symmetry considerations, meanwhile on Ga-polarity material this peak is absent, indicating a lower density of defects present in this region. The Raman spectra reveal that in the lateral direction, the change in structural quality accross the inversion domain boundary is rather continuous and extends along 4 ± 1 μm. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)