Atomically Sharp 318nm Gd:AlGaN Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes on Si with Low Threshold Voltage

TL;DR

This paper reports on the development of Gd-doped AlGaN PINLEDs on silicon that emit ultraviolet light at 318 nm with low threshold voltage, showing enhanced electroluminescence efficiency compared to other nanowire devices.

Contribution

It introduces atomically sharp Gd:AlN active region PINLEDs on Si with improved EL intensity and lower operating voltage, advancing UV LED technology.

Findings

Gd:AlGaN PINLEDs emit at 318 nm with low threshold voltage

EL intensity scales linearly with current density and increases at lower temperature

PINLEDs outperform Gd:AlGaN MIS nanowire devices in EL efficiency

Abstract

Self assembled AlGaN polarization-induced nanowire light emitting diodes (PINLEDs) with Gd-doped AlN active regions are prepared by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates. Atomically sharp electroluminescence (EL) from Gd intra-f-shell electronic transitions at 313 nm and 318 nm are observed under forward biases above 5V. The intensity of the Gd 4f EL scales linearly with current density and increases at lower temperature. The low electric field excitation of Gd 4f EL in PINLEDs is contrasted with high field excitation in Gd:AlGaN MIS nanowire devices (metal/Gd:AlN/polarization induced n-AlGaN) where it is concluded that PINLED devices offer over a three fold enhancement in 4f EL intensity at a given device bias.