The microstructure of non-polar a-plane (11 2¯0) InGaN quantum wells

Journal article

Atom probe tomography and quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy are used to assess the composition of non-polar a-plane (11-20) InGaN quantum wells for applications in optoelectronics. The average quantum well composition measured by atom probe tomography and quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy quantitatively agrees with measurements by X-ray diffraction. Atom probe tomography is further applied to study the distribution of indium atoms in non-polar a-plane (11-20) InGaN quantum wells. An inhomogeneous indium distribution is observed by frequency distribution analysis of the atom probe tomography measurements. The optical properties of non-polar (11-20) InGaN quantum wells with indium compositions varying from 7.9% to 20.6% are studied. In contrast to non-polar m-plane (1-100) InGaN quantum wells, the non-polar a-plane (11-20) InGaN quantum wells emit at longer emission wavelengths at the equivalent indium composition. The non-polar a-plane (11-20) quantum wells also show broader spectral linewidths. The longer emission wavelengths and broader spectral linewidths may be related to the observed inhomogeneous indium distribution.

Authors: Griffiths, J; Oehler, F; Tang, F; Zhang, S; Fu, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: AIP Publishing
• Journal: Journal of Applied Physics
• Volume: 119
• Issue: 17
• Publication date: 2016-05-02
• Acceptance date: 2016-04-15
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4948299
• EISSN: 1089-7550
• ISSN: 0021-8979
• Keywords: Journal Article