Ultraviolet light emitting diodes using III-N quantum dots

(Al,Ga)N-based quantum dots (QDs) grown on Al0.5Ga0.5N by molecular beam epitaxy have been studied as the active region for the fabrication of ultra-violet (UV) light emitting diodes (LEDs). In the first part, using both “polar” (0001) and “semipolar” (112¯2) surface orientations, the structural and optical properties of different QD structures are investigated and compared. In particular, their propensity to get an emission in the UV range is analyzed in correlation with the influence of the internal electric field on their optical properties. In a second part, (0001) and (112¯2)-oriented LEDs using GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N QD as active regions have been fabricated. Their main current-voltage characteristics and electroluminescence properties are discussed, with a focus on the LED emission wavelength range reached for both surface orientations: it is shown that a large part of the UV-A region can be covered, with longer wavelengths-from 415 to 360 nm-for the “polar” LEDs, and shorter ones-from 345 to 325 nm-for the “semipolar” LEDs. In addition, the influence of the internal electric field on the QD-LEDs working operation is shown.