Near-infrared photoluminescence of V-doped GaN

The visible and infrared luminescence of vanadium-doped GaN (GaN:V) grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy technique (MOVPE) on SiN-treated sapphire substrate were examined. Growth process was in-situ monitored by laser reflectometry. At room temperature and in the visible spectral range, photoluminescence (PL) shows a strong blue emission band. At 10 K, the near-infrared PL spectra exhibit several emissions dominated by a zero-phonon line (ZPL) at 0.821 eV with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 8.8 meV. Other peaks emerge in the low- and high-energy side of ZPL, which can be assigned to the fine structure of the charge state or the satellite lines. By increasing the temperature, the peaks’ intensities decrease and disappear above 150 K. The red-shift and the FWHM of the 0.821 eV line increase versus temperature, indicating a high contribution of the photonic Raman processes. This emission was assigned to be a vanadium intracenter emission.