AlGaN-based LEDs for UV-C-light emission still suffer from relatively poor efficiency. Besides problems with carrier injection and light extraction, strong piezoelectric fields in the optically active region originating from lattice mismatch between quantum wells and barrier material are a major issue. Mixing only few percent of boron into the AlGaN active region may be sufficient to achieve lattice matched conditions, thus decreasing the influence of the quantum-confined Stark effect on the radiative recombination efficiency. However, the epitaxial growth of AlBGaN layers with sufficient crystalline quality is still a challenge, particularly due to the low solubility of boron in AlGaN and the low mobility of boron ad-atoms on the surface. Consequently, only extremely weak luminescence has been reported on layers containing few percents of boron. By thoroughly optimizing the metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial growth of AlBGaN layers with a boron content of some percent, we could achieve similar luminescence intensities as for reference AlGaN layers along with smooth hetero-interfaces and low surface roughness as measured by TEM and AFM. Besides studying the influence of basic growth parameters like temperature, V-III ratio etc., we investigate possible improvements by an optimized pulsed precursor supply sequence. To reduce the unintentional doping with impurities like oxygen or carbon, typically attributed to the standard boron precursor tri-ethyl boron (TEB), we investigate the novel metalorganic precursor tri-isopropyl-boron (TiPB). Its lower vapor pressure as compared to TEB facilitates a controlled incorporation of small B amounts. First PL spectra of AlBGaN layers grown with TiPB show promising data.
Recently, GaInN has found increasing interest in chemical sensors and biosensors. Such sensors are typically based on changes in the near-surface band bending caused by different adsorbates on the surface. Besides electrical structures, optochemical transducers have been demonstrated, where the sensor response is read out remotely by analyzing the photoluminescence of the sensor structures. Hence, no chemically vulnerable electric contacts are required. In biosensing using optical technologies, the attachment of fluorescent labels to biomolecules is a frequently applied method. Often these fluorophors suffer from photobleaching which limits applications.
In our current studies, polar GaInN quantum wells (QWs) are applied for sensing different molecules adsorbed on the transducer surface. Instead of fluoro¬phors, adsorbate-caused changes of the GaInN quantum well photo¬lumi¬nescence (PL) are taken as chemical sensing signal. In particular, the band-bending influences the electric field in a near-surface quantum well and hence changes the emission wavelength owing to the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE). The sensitivity depends on the design of the hetero structures like QW and cap layer thickness, as evaluated by band structure simulations. Besides gases such as oxygen and hydrogen, also biomolecules can be adsorbed on the semiconductor surface and studied by PL. As an example, we have studied the iron-storage protein ferritin. Ferritins with and without iron-load (the latter corresponds to apoferritin) are immobilized on hydroxylated polar GaInN quantum well surfaces. A spectral shift of the quantum well PL is found depending on the iron-load of the molecules which might enable sensing of ferritin-bound iron.
We report on blue and green light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) grown on (11-22)-GaN templates. The templates were created
by overgrowth on structured r-plane sapphire substrates. Low defect density, 100 mm diameter GaN templates were
obtained by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (VPE) and hydride VPE techniques. Chemical-mechanical polishing
was used to obtain smooth surfaces for the subsequent growth of LED structures. Ohmic contacts to the p-type GaN
were obtained despite the lower activated acceptor levels. The LEDs show excellent output power and fast carrier
dynamics. Freestanding LEDs have been obtained by use of laser-lift-off. The work is the result of collaboration under
the European Union funded ALIGHT project.
We present our results of (20-21) GaN growth on (22-43) patterned sapphire substrates. The substrates are patterned by
etching trenches with c-plane-like side-facets. On these facets, the metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) GaN
growth starts in c-direction and forms triangularly shaped stripes eventually coalescing to a (20-21) oriented layer. X-ray
rocking curves measured parallel to the stripes of the symmetric (20-21) reflection show a full width at half maximum of
675 arcsec. Well known from epitaxy of c-plane GaN, an in-situ-deposited SiN mask could help to reduce the defect
density further. Systematic investigations of the deposition time and position of the SiN interlayer resulted in a
significant improvement of crystal quality confirmed by X-ray and low temperature photoluminescence measurements.
Additionally, MOVPE GaN templates with and without SiN mask were overgrown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. Also
now, the SiN interlayer improves the crystal and especially the surface quality of the HVPE layer.
Improving the crystal quality of AlGaN epitaxial layers is essential for the realization of efficient III-nitride-based light
emitting diodes (LEDs) with emission wavelengths below 365 nm. Here, we report on two different approaches to
improve the material quality of AlGaN buffer layers for such UV-LEDs, which are known to be effective for the
MOVPE growth of GaN layers. Firstly, we grew AlGaN on thin GaN nucleation islands which exhibit a threedimensional
facetted structure (3D GaN nucleation). Lateral overgrowth of these islands results in a lateral bending of
dislocation lines at the growing facets. Secondly, in-situ deposited SiNx interlayers have been used as nano-masks
reducing the dislocation density above the SiNx layers. Both approaches result in reduced asymmetric HRXRD ω-scan
peak widths, indicating a reduced edge-type dislocation density. They can be applied to the growth of AlGaN layers with
an Al concentration of at least 20%, thus suitable for LEDs emitting around 350 nm. On-wafer electroluminescence
measurements at 20 mA show an increase in output power by a factor of 7 and 25 for LED structures grown on 3D GaN
nucleation and SiNx interlayer, respectively, compared to structures grown on a purely 2D grown low Al-content AlGaN
nucleation layer. Mesa-LEDs fabricated from the LED layer sequences grown on buffers with SiNx interlayer exhibit a
low forward voltage of 3.8 V at 20 mA and a maximum continuous wave (cw) output power of 12.2 mW at 300 mA.
Bluish-green semipolar GaInN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) were investigated as possible candidates for
high-brightness devices even in the long wavelength visible regime. To combine the high material quality known
from c-GaN and the advantages of a reduced piezoelectric field, the LED structures were realized on the {1¯101} side facets of selectively grown GaN stripes with triangular cross section. Structural investigations using transmission
electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high resolution x-ray diffraction, and atomic force
microscopy have been performed and could be related to the luminescence properties in photoluminescence and
cathodoluminescence. The defect-related luminescence peaks at 3.3 eV and 3.42 eV typically observed in planar
non- and semipolar GaN structures as fingerprints of prismatic and basal plane stacking faults, respectively,
could be eliminated in our facet LED structures by optimized growth conditions.
Furthermore, an indium incorporation efficiency for these {1¯101} facets is found to be about 50% higher
as compared to c-plane growth, what helps significantly to achieve longer wavelength emission in spite of the
reduced quantum confined Stark effect in such non- and semipolar materials.
Combining these findings, we could realize a bluish-green semipolar light emitting diode on the side facets of
our GaN stripes. Continuous wave on-wafer optical output powers as high as 240 µW@20mA could be achieved
for about 500nm emission wavelength in electroluminescence measurements. The external efficiency was nearly
constant for the investigated current range. Furthermore, the relatively small wavelength shift of about 3 nm for
currents between 10mA and 100mA confirmed the reduced piezoelectric field in our LED structures.
In this paper we discuss the problems of the AlGaInP material system and its consequences for the laser applications in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL). The epitaxial and technological solutions to overcome at least parts of the inherent problems were presented. Measured power-current curves of 660nm AlGaInP-based oxide-confined VCSEL are compared with calculated data by a cylindrical heat dissipation model to improve heat removal out of the device. Pulsed lasing operation of a 670nm VCSEL at +120°C heat sink temperature is demonstrated, where we exceeded 0.5mW and at +160°C still 25μW output power were achieved. We also studied the modulation bandwidth of our devices and achieved 4GHz and calculations lead to a maximum possible intrinsic -3dB frequency of 25GHz.
This contribution drafts the problems of the AlGaInP material system and its consequences for the laser applications in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL). The epitaxial and technological solutions to overcome at least parts of the inherent problems were discussed. Calculated data by a cylindrical heat dissipation model were compared with measured power-current curves of 660nm oxide-confined VCSEL to improve the heat removal out of the device. At high temperatures pulsed operation of a 670nm VCSEL is demonstrated, where we could exceeded 0.5mW at +120°C and at +160°C still 25µW optical output power were achieved.
In this work, we investigate the absorption distribution in InGaN-on-sapphire based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We observed by photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS) and transmission measurements that most of the absorption takes place in a thin layer close to the sapphire substrate. The lateral intensity distribution in the surrounding of LED emitters is determined by the photocurrent measurement method. Based on the observations by PDS and transmission, a model for the lateral light propagation in the LED-wafer containing also a thin, strong absorbing layer is presented. It is shown that interference of the mode profiles with the absorbing layer leads to different modal absorption which explains the non-exponential intensity distribution. We are able to estimate the optical thickness of the absorbing layer to be 75 nm. Furthermore, this layer can be identified as one of the major loss mechanism in InGaN-LEDs grown on sapphire substrate due to the large absorption coefficient which is effective at the emission wavelength.
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) in the GaInP/AlGaInP material system have experienced a rapid development in their short history. In general lasers from that material system are suitable for a huge number of applications beginning with TV lasers and high power lasers for edge emitters, continuing with optical data storage, medical applications as well as data communication in cars, air planes, offices and between computers as application field for VCSELs. Especially automotive applications show the highest requirements on a laser with respect to operation temperature and power. In this talk we draw out the problems of the material system AlGaInP and its implications for laser applications. We discuss the epitaxial and technological solutions to overcome at least a part of these inherent problems. We will discuss the possible power that we can expect from VCSELs emitting in the range between 650 nm to 670 nm. We got from our lasers 5 mW, CW @ RT, 670nm and 2.5mW, CW@RT, 650 nm. We emphasize the role of doping, Bragg mirror grading, suitable detuning of cavity mode and gain, and optimisation of the contact layer and control of the oxide aperture in the VCSEL structure to get improved operation characteristics at higher temperatures. From the analysis of high frequency measurements, we could evaluate modulation bandwidths between 4 GHz and 10 GHz. The application of polyimide as a dielectric isolation material shows the potential to obtain modulation bandwidths beyond 10 GHz. For the intrinsic modulation bandwidth we get a value of 25 GHz, which is near the value edge emitters show. A more detailed discussion on photon lifetimes and carrier transport times will be given in the talk. Red light emitting VCSELS driven with short current pulses showed laser emission up to + 160°C case temperature. Thus, a CW operation up to +120°C can be expected after further improvement of power generation (decrease of series resistance) and heat spreading (optimized contacts and mounting). From these characteristics we can conclude that AlGaInP-surface emitting lasers have a real potential as low cost lasers for automotive applications as we all as data communication applications up to 10 GHz.
A new global approach, called 'Generalized Ellipsometry', is now capable to characterize the optical and structural properties of general anisotropic layered systems, including absorption, and can be applied, in general, to determine the linear response tensor elements for wavelengths from the far IR to the deep UV. This technique enables new insights into physical phenomena of layered anisotropic mediums, and can provide precise structural and optical data of novel compound materials. Experimental results are presented for stibnite single crystals as example for an arbitrary biaxial absorbing material, a wurtzite GaN thin film with uniaxial anisotropy grown on sapphire, a spontaneously atomically ordered III-V semiconductor alloy thin film, and a sculptured titanium dioxide film with symmetrically dielectric tensor properties.
Infrared Spectroscopic Ellipsometry is presented as a feasible and novel technique for contactless and nondestructive measurement of free-carrier and crystal-structure properties in the characterization of complex semiconductor heterostructures for device applications. Infrared-active lattice modes and coupling of free-carrier plasmons to longitudinal-optical lattice phonon modes strongly affect the infrared-optical response of semiconductor materials. Analysis of ellipsometry data from 2 micrometers to 100 micrometers can provide precise information on phonon mode frequencies and broadening parameters, static dielectric constants, free-carrier concentration, and free-carrier mobility at optical frequencies of III-V compound semiconductors, even for films with thicknesses only a fraction of the probing wavelengths. Alloy composition, strain, crystal quality, and free-carrier properties of constituent layers in thin-film structures, designed for optoelectronic or electronic device applications, can be derived. We demonstrate the characterization of coherent and incoherent light emitter structures based on group-III-nitride materials, where information such as concentration and mobility of free carriers in n- and p-type regions, thickness, composition, and quality of device constituents are accessible.
In this article fabrication techniques and the analysis of AlGaInP semiconductor lasers for single mode emission and high power emission will be reported. Special emphasis will be spent on the appropriate vertical and longitudinal device structures. Furthermore we discuss low damage dry etching and epitaxial regrowth of DFB laser structures. The devices investigated are DBR- DFB- and MOPA-lasers.
Nanostructures based on III-V semiconductor materials have reached a status which enables basic physical studies on size effects in device and in nanostructures. The expected benefits of high modulation bandwidth, low laser threshold, and improved linewidth enhancement factor in DFB lasers, to say only a few, which are believed to be based mainly on the changed density of states (DOS) function in low dimensions might be counterbalanced by altered carrier energy relaxation and k-space filling in those structures. To investigate systematically size effects and device aspects, a continuous change of structure and active device size is needed from 2D to 0D dimensions. This requirement can be met by high resolution electron beam lithography in conjunction with low damage etch processes and epitaxial overgrowth. In this presentation we discuss the technology and design considerations of lasers with low dimensional active regions as well as DOS effects and device relevant carrier relaxation effects. The technology part will focus especially on low damage etch processes such as RIE- ECR. Nearly damage free structuring processes can be demonstrated. Based on this low damage dry etch process we obtained electrically pumped wire DFB lasers with relatively high output power (up to 6 mW) and operation temperature (60 degrees C). Time resolved optical ps-spectroscopy as well as high excitation spectroscopy on wire and dot nanostructures demonstrate strongly changed k-space filling and carrier relaxation mechanisms in low dimensions and represent a serious limitation of device speed. Results obtained from electrically pumped wire DFB lasers confirm the carrier relaxation and k-space filling effects in device structures which have been observed by optical pump experiments in nanostructures. Despite the band filling effects in low dimensional structures, the wire DFB lasers show clearly the expected feature of gain coupling and enhanced differential gain which might demonstrate the applicability of mesoscopic laser devices in common data communication approaches.
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