Dynamics of nonequilibrium carrier decay in AlGaN epitaxial layers with high aluminum content.

Carrier dynamics in high-Al-content AlGaN epilayers with different dislocation densities from 5 × 10(8) cm(-2) to 5 × 10(9) cm(-2) is studied by comparing the photoluminescence decay with the decay of carrier density. The carrier density decay was investigated using the light-induced transient grating technique. This comparison shows that the luminescence at the nonequilibrium carrier densities expected in operating light-emitting diodes depends on the recombination of free carriers and the localized exciton-like electron-hole pairs and localization-delocalization processes. In addition, a fraction of the nonequilibrium carriers is captured by the deep capture centers with extremely long lifetimes. These carriers have an insignificant contribution to the band-to-band radiative recombination. This capture is an important factor in decreasing the emission efficiency.

Laser-Patterned Alumina Mask and Mask-Less Dry Etch of Si for Light Trapping with Photonic Crystal Structures.

Ultra-short 230 fs laser pulses of a 515 nm wavelength were tightly focused onto 700 nm focal spots and utilised in opening ∼0.4-1 µm holes in alumina Al2O3 etch masks with a 20-50 nm thickness. Such dielectric masks simplify the fabrication of photonic crystal (PhC) light-trapping patterns for the above-Lambertian performance of high-efficiency solar cells. The conditions of the laser ablation of transparent etch masks and the effects sub-surface Si modifications were revealed by plasma etching, numerical modelling, and minority carrier lifetime measurements. Mask-less patterning of Si is proposed using fs laser direct writing for dry plasma etching of Si.

Development of Quaternary InAlGaN Barrier Layer for High Electron Mobility Transistor Structures.

A quaternary lattice matched InAlGaN barrier layer with am indium content of 16.5 ± 0.2% and thickness of 9 nm was developed for high electron mobility transistor structures using the metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition method. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the layer were investigated planning realization of microwave power and terahertz plasmonic devices. The measured X-ray diffraction and modeled band diagram characteristics revealed the structural parameters of the grown In0.165Al0.775Ga0.06N/Al0.6Ga0.4N/GaN heterostructure, explaining the origin of barrier photoluminescence peak position at 3.98 eV with the linewidth of 0.2 eV and the expected red-shift of 0.4 eV only. The thermally stable density of the two-dimension electron gas at the depth of 10.5 nm was experimentally confirmed to be 1.2 × 1013 cm-2 (1.6 × 1013 cm-2 in theory) with the low-field mobility values of 1590 cm2/(V·s) and 8830 cm2/(V·s) at the temperatures of 300 K and 77 K, respectively.

The detrimental effect of AlGaN barrier quality on carrier dynamics in AlGaN/GaN interface.

Carrier recombination and scattering at the semiconductor boundaries can substantially limit the device efficiency. However, surface and interface recombination is generally neglected in the nitride-based devices. Here, we study carrier recombination and diffusivity in AlGaN/GaN/sapphire heterointerfaces with AlGaN barriers of different quality. We employ the light induced transient grating and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques to extract carrier lifetime in different depths of the GaN buffer as well as in the AlGaN barrier, and to evaluate the carrier diffusion coefficient in the buffer. Moreover, we assess interface recombination velocity, Shockley-Read-Hall and radiative recombination rates. We reveal the adverse barrier influence on carrier dynamics in the underlying buffer: AlGaN barrier accelerates the nonradiative carrier recombination in the GaN buffer. The interface recombination velocity in the GaN buffer increases with decreasing AlGaN barrier quality, and the dominating recombination mechanism switches from Shockley-Read-Hall to interface recombination. These phenomena are governed by a cumulative effect of various interface-deteriorating barrier defects. Meanwhile, the carrier diffusivity in the GaN buffer is not affected by the AlGaN barrier. We conclude that barrier-accelerated interface recombination can become a major carrier loss mechanism in AlGaN/GaN interface, and may substantially limit the efficiency in nitride-based UV LEDs.

Spectral dependence of THz emission from InN and InGaN layers.

Spectral dependence of terahertz emission is a sensitive tool to analyze the structure of conduction band of semiconductors. In this work, we investigate the excitation spectra of THz pulses emitted from MOCVD-grown InN and InGaN epitaxial layers with indium content of 16%, 68%, and 80%. In InN and indium-rich InGaN layers we observe a gradual saturation of THz emission efficiency with increasing photon energy. This is in stark contrast to other III-V semiconductors where an abrupt drop of THz efficiency occurs at certain photon energy due to inter-valley electron scattering. From these results, we set a lower limit of the intervalley energy separation in the conduction band of InN as 2.4 eV. In terms of THz emission efficiency, the largest optical-to-THz energy conversion rate was obtained in 75 nm thick In0.16Ga0.84N layer, while lower THz emission efficiency was observed from InN and indium-rich InGaN layers due to the screening of built-in field by a high-density electron gas in these materials.

Direct Auger recombination and density-dependent hole diffusion in InN.

Indium nitride has a good potential for infrared optoelectronics, yet it suffers from fast nonradiative recombination, the true origin of which has not been established with certainty. The diffusion length of free carriers at high densities is not well investigated either. Here, we study carrier recombination and diffusion using the light-induced transient grating technique in InN epilayers grown by pulsed MOCVD on c-plane sapphire. We show that direct Auger recombination governs the lifetime of carriers at densities above ~1018 cm-3. The measured Auger recombination coefficient is (8 ± 1) × 10-29 cm-3. At carrier densities above ~5 × 1019 cm-3, we observe the saturation of Auger recombination rate due to phase space filling. The diffusion coefficient of holes scales linearly with carrier density, increasing from 1 cm2/s in low-doped layers at low excitations and up to ~40 cm2/s at highest carrier densities. The resulting carrier diffusion length remains within 100-300 nm range, which is comparable to the light absorption depth. This feature is required for efficient carrier extraction in bipolar devices, thus suggesting MOCVD-grown InN as the material fit for photovoltaic and photonic applications.