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To improve the stability and sensitivity of pH sensors based on AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), we proposed a modified sensing structure by integrating a reference HEMT device. This structural pH sensor exhibits a typical Nernstian behavior with a sensitivity of 54.38 mV/pH, which is higher than the value of 49.43mV/pH derived from the AlGaN/GaN HEMT-based sensor without integrating the reference HEMTs device. Furthermore, the stability of the new structural sensor is enhanced by approximately 19.2% in comparison with that of its traditional counterpart. The improved performances are analyzed using an electrical double-layer model together with an equivalent circuit model, and we find that the new sensor structure has a larger capacitor and exhibits a better rectification effect, hence decreasing the electrical noise and enhancing the stability of the testing signal. Meanwhile, the new sensor structure displays a smaller equivalent resistance and results in a larger available output current, hence exhibiting a higher sensitivity.

To improve the performance of optoelectronic devices, a high performance wide angle SiO2/Ti3O5 Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) mirror was designed and fabricated on double polished sapphire substrate. 17-pairs gradually varied DBR structure was applied in order to acquire a broad stopband reflectivity over 95% from 400 nm to 800 nm, covering the whole visible light region. The DBR mirrors deposited at the backside of optoelectronics devices are also demonstrated to remain a high reflectivity at wide incident angles, which improves the emission efficiency of LEDs and light absorption efficiency of InGaN/GaN photoelectrochemical cell (PEC).

Vertically aligned nanowire arrays, with high surface-to-volume ratio and efficient light-trapping absorption, have attracted much attention for photoelectric devices. In this paper, vertical β-Ga2O3 nanowire arrays with an average diameter/height of 110/450 nm have been fabricated by the inductively coupled plasma etching technique. Then a metal-semiconductor-metal structured solar-blind photodetector (PD) has been fabricated by depositing interdigital Ti/Au electrodes on the nanowire arrays. The fabricated β-Ga2O3 nanowire PD exhibits ∼10 times higher photocurrent and responsivity than the corresponding film PD. Moreover, it also possesses a high photocurrent to dark current ratio (I light/I dark) of ∼104 and a ultraviolet/visible rejection ratio (R 260 nm/R 400 nm) of 3.5 × 103 along with millisecond-level photoresponse times.

Semi-polar micro-LEDs have gain increasing interests due to the advantages of polarization control and quantum efficiency improvement. In this work, a novel semi-polar (20–21)-plane micro-LEDs array has been designed and manufactured. In comparison with c-plane micro-LEDs, semi-polar micro-LEDs indicate better electrical and optical performance. The relative EQE of semi-polar micro-LEDs remains at 62% under the injected current density of 775.6 A/cm2, which indicates a reduced efficiency droop due to less polarization in MQWs. It has been further proved by a significant reduction of 55% in emission peak blue-shift under the injected current density from 11.1 A/cm2 to 775.6 A/cm2. In addition, the carrier recombination dynamics and spatial light distribution of semi-polar micro-LEDs with different pixel sizes have been studied. Fast recombination lifetime in smaller size semi-polar micro-LEDs indicates a promising way to be used as a high modulation bandwidth light source. Stable and uniform light distribution in a wider range of spatial azimuths further supports for the semi-polar micro-LEDs as a strong candidate for the applications of high-resolution display and high-speed visible light communication.

Current-voltage ( I-V ) characteristics of AlGaN ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) under the temperatures ranging from 50 K to 300 K are analyzed. The abnormal diode characteristics of UV-LEDs below the turn-on voltage indicate the existence of space-charge-limited (SCL) current transport in the presence of deep trap states, which induce a non-linear current leakage effect. The SCL current is gradually overwhelmed by Ohmic leakage as the temperature increases, which is mainly due to the thermally generated carrier concentration and traps deactivation. A modified three-diode circuit model is suggested with an additional series resistor and diode to emulate the forward-bias I-V characteristics of UV-LEDs. An excellent fit to the I-V curves of UV-LEDs is achieved, which illustrates the impact of deep trap states on the electrical characteristics of UV-LEDs.

It is known that the commercialized white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) depend on phosphor conversion, which is limited by the unbalanced carrier injection in multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and low down-conversion efficiency. To solve these problems, hybrid organic/inorganic III-nitride WLEDs were designed and fabricated based on Rubrene/(InGaN/GaN) MQWs p-n junction. In such new structure, Rubrene can act as yellow–red emitter and play an important role in hole transport layer owing to its high carrier mobility. By optimizing the hybrid LED structure, the charge balance and recombination zone in radiative region were significantly improved. In this work, the optimal hybrid WLED with color coordinates of (0.31, 0.33) shows a maximum current efficiency of 15.22 cd/A with excellent long lifetime stability. The hybrid WLEDs based on organic/inorganic p-n junction were demonstrated with a good performance, which provides an attractive route to achieve high performance phosphor-free WLED sources for microdisplay or large-area WLED applications.

We proposed an improved front-illuminated GaN/AlGaN separate absorption and multiplication (SAM) ultraviolet avalanche photodiode (APD) based on physical analysis and device simulations. By inserting an Al0.2Ga0.8N p-type layer into the p-i-p-i-n APD structure, a built-in electric field resulted from polarization effect will be introduced to facilitate the transport of electrons from absorption layer to multiplication region. The enhanced heterostructure APD presents significantly higher multiplication gain compared with the homogeneous one. Moreover, the doping concentration and thickness of the interlayer were optimized according to device performances, because the interlay has important effects on the electric field distribution and energy-band profile of the front-illuminated SAM APD.

Solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) have attracted tremendous attention in the environmental, industrial, military, and biological fields. As a representative III-nitride material, AlGaN alloys have broad development prospects in the field of solar-blind detection due to their superior properties, such as tunable wide bandgaps for intrinsic UV detection. In recent decades, a variety of AlGaN-based PDs have been developed to achieve high-precision solar-blind UV detection. As integrated optoelectronic technology advances, AlGaN-based focal plane arrays (FPAs) are manufactured and exhibit outstanding solar-blind imaging capability. Considering the rapid development of AlGaN detection techniques, this paper comprehensively reviews the progress on AlGaN-based solar-blind UV PDs and FPAs. First, the basic physical properties of AlGaN are presented. The epitaxy and p-type doping problems of AlGaN alloys are then discussed. Diverse PDs, including photoconductors and Schottky, metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM), p-i-n, and avalanche photodiodes (APDs), are demonstrated, and the physical mechanisms are analyzed to improve device performance. Additionally, this paper summarizes imaging technologies used with AlGaN FPAs in recent years. Benefiting from the development of AlGaN materials and optoelectronic devices, solar-blind UV detection technology is greeted with significant revolutions., Summarizing recent advances in the processing and properties of AlGaN-based solar-blind UV photodetectors and focal plane arrays as well as AlGaN growth and doping techniques.

Micro-light emitting diodes (Micro-LEDs) based on III-nitride semiconductors have become a research hotspot in the field of high-resolution display due to its unique advantages. However, the edge effect caused by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching in Micro-LEDs become significant with respect to the decreased chip size, resulting in a great reduction in device performance. In this article, sector-shaped GaN-based blue Micro-LEDs are designed and fabricated. Additionally, the device performance of different size Micro-LEDs with passivation are investigated with respect to those without passivation. Several methods have been applied to minimize the etching damage near the edge, including acid-base wet etching and SiO2 passivation layer growth. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) results demonstrate that the light emission intensity of Micro-LEDs can be significantly enhanced by optimized passivation process. PL mapping images show that the overall luminescence of properly passivated Micro-LEDs is enhanced, the uniformity is improved, and the effective luminescence area is increased. The recombination lifetime of carriers in Micro-LEDs are increased by the usage of passivation process, which proves the reduction in non-radiative recombination centers in Micro-LEDs and improved luminescence efficiency. As a result, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is improved from 14.9% to 37.6% for 10 μm Micro-LEDs, and from 18.3% to 26.9% for 5 μm Micro-LEDs.

Crystal structures activate innate immune cells, especially macrophages and initiate inflammatory responses. We aimed to understand the role of the mechanosensitive TRPV4 channel in crystal-induced inflammation. Real-time RT-PCR, RNAscope in situ hybridisation, and Trpv4eGFP mice were used to examine TRPV4 expression and whole-cell patch-clamp recording and live-cell Ca2+ imaging were used to study TRPV4 function in mouse synovial macrophages and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Both genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition approaches were used to investigate the role of TRPV4 in NLRP3 inflammasome activation induced by diverse crystals in vitro and in mouse models of crystal-induced pain and inflammation in vivo. TRPV4 was functionally expressed by synovial macrophages and human PBMCs and TRPV4 expression was upregulated by stimulation with monosodium urate (MSU) crystals and in human PBMCs from patients with acute gout flares. MSU crystal-induced gouty arthritis were significantly reduced by either genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of TRPV4 function. Mechanistically, TRPV4 mediated the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome by diverse crystalline materials but not non-crystalline NLRP3 inflammasome activators, driving the production of inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β which elicited TRPV4-dependent inflammatory responses in vivo. Moreover, chemical ablation of the TRPV1-expressing nociceptors significantly attenuated the MSU crystal-induced gouty arthritis. In conclusion, TRPV4 is a common mediator of inflammatory responses induced by diverse crystals through NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages. TRPV4-expressing resident macrophages are critically involved in MSU crystal-induced gouty arthritis. A neuroimmune interaction between the TRPV1-expressing nociceptors and the TRPV4-expressing synovial macrophages contributes to the generation of acute gout flares.

We report here the preparation of porous single-crystal GaN films by direct top-down high temperature nitridation of β-Ga2O3. It is found that, although the crystallographic orientations of the original β-Ga2O3 samples are different, the GaN films converted from both bulk (200) β-Ga2O3 single crystal and (−201) β-Ga2O3 film have the same (0002) orientation and show no obvious stress. And we also found that the crystal quality of converted GaN strongly depends on the crystal quality of β-Ga2O3. In particular, we have successfully converted β-Ga2O3 film entirely to single-crystal GaN porous film on sapphire, and the self-separation happens naturally between the porous GaN film and sapphire.

Gallium nitride (GaN) films homo-epitaxially grown on GaN/sapphire templates and free standing GaN substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) have been investigated. After optimizations of growth temperature, the Ga/N flux ratio, surface preparation as well as initial growth process, the high quality MBE-GaN films were obtained. Combined with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements, the TD densities were measured ∼4.2 × 108 cm−2 and ∼5 × 105 cm−2 for MBE-grown GaN films grown on GaN/sapphire templates and free standing GaN substrates, respectively. The observations of TEM prove the clear interface and well-arranged atomic lattice between substrates and as-grown layers. Besides, a flat and smooth surface with step-flow growth mode is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Photoluminescence (PL) measurements exhibit that the linewidth for free excitons is as narrow as 4 meV at low temperature of 8 K and the deep level related yellow band emission ∼550 nm have been effectively suppressed at room temperature. The process optimization and obtained results give us wide latitude to fabricate high performance devices with lower tolerance to dislocation density.

We have successfully obtained a hexagonal single crystal GaN layer with (002) orientation by nitridating β-Ga2O3 film under NH3 flow despite structural mismatch between β-Ga2O3 and hexagonal GaN. The conversion process of β-Ga2O3 to GaN has also been systematically investigated. The nitridated GaN layer shows a network structure without significant stress, which makes it very suitable to be used as a template for the epitaxial growth of high-quality GaN films. The GaN/Ga2O3 heterostructure can also be used to obtain free-standing GaN (FS-GaN) films by self-separation or chemical lift-off (CLO) process due to the selective etching of β-Ga2O3. Further investigation demonstrates the feasibility of the in situ growth of low-stress FS-GaN substrates by halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE).

Hybrid white light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been developed utilizing micro-LEDs radiatively pumping down-conversion phosphor materials. The cyan InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells LEDs with 95 μm in square are fabricated into 4 × 4 pixels as one unit in 4 in wafer by photolithography and inductively coupled plasma etching techniques. The relatively low turn on voltage and low leakage of cyan micro-LEDs indicate good electrical performance. A significant reduction in the efficiency droop characteristics of cyan micro-LED has been observed in comparison with that of standard green LED. Finally, based on a systemic optimization for white emission indexes, high-quality hybrid white light emission has been demonstrated by the combination of blue and cyan micro-LEDs with two types of phosphors, which have a high color rendering index up to 87 at the correlated color temperatures of 6500 K. It also demonstrates a way to adjust the color component by modifying the output power of cyan micro-LED in hybrid LED, showing a promising candidate in a large range of applications including micro-displays, bioinstrumentation, photolithography, and lab-on-chip systems in the future.

We investigate the electrical and optical properties of graphene–Ag nanodot compounds as transparent conductive layers (TCLs) for gallium nitride (GaN)-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) with different Ag thicknesses. As the thickness of Ag increases from 2 to 5 nm on the 365-nm UV-LEDs, the transmittance decreases from 82.5% to 65.2% and ohmic contact resistance decreases from 0.2 to ${1.3}{\times} {10}^{-5} \Omega \text {cm}^{2}$ . At a wavelength of about 320 nm, the TCLs exhibit high transparency, which is also confirmed by the simulation data of the finite-difference time-domain solution. The simulation and experimental results suggest that Ag with a thickness of 5 nm can potentially obtain both low ohmic contact resistance and high transmittance at the wavelength of about 320 nm, which is important for medical applications. We also study the nanodot migration and coalescence mechanism of 2- and 5-nm Ag samples by scanning electron microscopy, as well as the influence of the existence of graphene. The 5-nm Ag sample has smaller and denser Ag nanodots and thus exhibits better electrical properties. In addition, the Ag nanodots after the second annealing procedure with graphene covering are larger than those without graphene covering.

We report here high-quality β-Ga2O3 nanorods (NRs) grown on sapphire substrates by hydrothermal method. Ammoniating the β-Ga2O3 NRs results in strain-free wurtzite gallium nitride (GaN) NRs. It was shown by XRD and Raman spectroscopy that β-Ga2O3 was partially converted to GaN/β-Ga2O3 at 1000 °C and then completely converted to GaN NRs at 1050 °C, as confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). There is no band-edge emission of β-Ga2O3 in the cathodoluminescence spectrum, and only a deep-level broad emission observed at 3.68–3.73 eV. The band edge emission (3.39 eV) of GaN NRs converted from β-Ga2O3 can also be observed.

We have fabricated the InGaN/AlGaInN multiple quantum wells with lattice-matched AlGaN/InGaN superlattices barriers (SL-MQWs). The lattice-matched superlattices promote the formation of the high-quality MQWs and eliminate the large polarization electric field. Highly excited photoluminescence measurement is performed by Ti-sapphire pulse laser with the maximal carrier density of 1020 cm−3. Under such high carrier density, the conventional InGaN/GaN MQWs (C-MQWs) have an additional nonradiative loss of carriers and suffer from the efficiency droop effect, while slight droop behavior is observed in the SL-MQWs sample. The results show that the substitution of AlGaN/InGaN superlattices as quantum barriers can effectively suppress the droop behavior at highly excited condition.

We have developed a simple top-down technique for preparing GaN porous templates with high single-crystallinity by high-temperature nitridation of β-Ga2O3 films. The GaN template converted from β-Ga2O3 film contains many voids and exhibits good-crystallinity with (0 0 2) orientation. The results confirm that the GaN porous template is stress-free, and the re-nitridation can effectively improve the crystal quality and luminescence properties of the GaN template. A ∼100 μm GaN thick film has been grown on the GaN porous template by halide vapor phase epitaxy, and self-separation of the GaN thick film from the sapphire substrate has been successfully achieved.

A systematic investigation on PA-MBE grown GaN with low growth rates (less than 0.2 µm/h) has been conducted in a wide growth temperature range, in order to guide future growth of sophisticated fine structures for quantum device applications. Similar to usual growths with higher growth rates, three growth regions have been revealed, namely, Ga droplets, slightly Ga-rich and N-rich 3D growth regions. The slightly Ga-rich region is preferred, in which GaN epilayers demonstrate optimal crystalline quality, which has been demonstrated by streaky RHEED patterns, atomic smooth surface morphology, and very low defect related yellow and blue luminescence bands. The growth temperature is a critical parameter to obtain high quality materials and the optimal growth temperature window (~ 700–760 °C) has been identified. The growth rate shows a strong dependence on growth temperatures in the optimal temperature window, and attention must be paid when growing fine structures at a low growth rate. Mg and Si doped GaN were also studied, and both p- and n-type materials were obtained.

Plasmonic nanolaser as a new type of ultra-small laser, has gain wide interests due to its breaking diffraction limit of light and fast carrier dynamics characters. Normally, the main problem that need to be solved for plasmonic nanolaser is high loss induced by optical and ohmic losses, which leads to the low quality factor. In this work, InGaN/GaN nanoplate plasmonic nanolaser with large interface area were designed and fabricated, where the overlap between SPs and excitons can be enhanced. The lasing threshold is calculated to be ~6.36 kW/cm2, where the full width at half maximum (FWHM) drops from 27 to 4 nm. And the fast decay time at 502 nm (sharp peak of stimulated lasing) is estimated to be 0.42 ns. Enhanced lasing characters are mainly attributed to the strong confinement of electromagnetic wave in the low refractive index material, which improve the near field coupling between SPs and excitons. Such plasmonic laser should be useful in data storage applications, biological application, light communication, especially for optoelectronic devices integrated into a system on a chip.

Microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) has been developed as a popular method to grow artificial single crystal diamonds with high crystal quality due to its feasibility and economical effectivity. However, the surface roughness and defects will lead to the generation of cracks in the growth process and significant degradation of the crystal quality of epitaxial CVD diamond. Although optimized growth parameters and subsequent chemico-mechanical polishing (CMP) could improve the surface morphology of CVD diamond layer for device fabrication, more investigations need to be done. In this study, nano-sized patterns were prepared by self-assembled Ni mask and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching method on diamond seed, and the height of nanorods were optimized for high quality single crystal diamond growth. According to the Microscope imaging, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) mapping and X-ray diffraction measurements, the influence of diamond nucleation on nanorod structures has been evaluated. The results demonstrate that the surface morphology and crystal quality of CVD diamond layer can be improved by the nano-sized patterned diamond seed, indicating a promising method for diamond-based device fabrication.

This study developed an LED thermal resistance and thermal interface material evaluation method using LEDs with an internal sensor unit by both steady-state and transient thermal measurements. The problem of the measurement delay time caused by the current switching, which exist in conventional methods can be avoided in both steady-state and transient thermal measurements. Slight error in junction temperature measurement caused by the self-illumination effect can be identified without the current switching issue. The error is compensated in steady-state thermal measurement and is insignificant in transient measurement. Compared with conventional methods, this method uses low-cost equipment, while realizing improved accuracy.

Gallium nitride (GaN)-based nanowires (NWs) have attracted much attention for the fabrication of novel nanostructured devices. In this paper, the influence of an AlN seeding layer on the nucleation of self-assembled GaN NWs grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si (111) substrates has been investigated. Not only is the formation of a two-dimensional compact GaN layer at the bottom of the NWs suppressed, but also a high density of vertically aligned well-separated GaN NWs originating from GaN islands are successfully obtained after introducing annealing and nitridation processes. Scanning electronic microscope and transmission electron microscope measurements show that the NWs have a high crystalline wurtzite structure nearly free of dislocations and stacking faults and the NW diameter remains constant over almost the entire length. Due to the temperature-dependent diffusion length of Ga adatoms during the nucleation process, the formation of well-separated NWs relies on the distribution and morphology of the underlying AlN seeding layer. Moreover, the SiNx layer served as mask to inhibit coalescence at the nucleation sites. The developed growth processes and the obtained results provide a viable path facilitating the use of MBE growth techniques to fabricate III-nitride NW-based materials and related devices on Si substrates.

We fabricated p-i-n tunnel junction (TJ) contacts for hole injection on c-plane green micro-light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) by a hybrid growth approach using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) and metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The TJ was formed by an MBE-grown ultra-thin unintentionally doped InGaN polarization layer and an n ++ / n + - GaN layer on the activated p ++ - GaN layer prepared by MOCVD. This hybrid growth approach allowed for the realization of a steep doping interface and ultrathin depletion width for efficient inter-band tunneling. Compared to standard micro-LEDs, the TJ micro-LEDs showed a reduced device resistance, enhanced electroluminescence intensity, and a reduced efficiency droop. The size-independent J-V characteristics indicate that TJ could serve as an excellent current spreading layer. All these results demonstrated that hybrid TJ contacts contributed to the realization of high-performance micro-LEDs with long emission wavelengths.

The heteroepitaxial β-Ga2O3 films were grown on the (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates with various off-angles toward 〈1 1 2 - 0〉 by halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). The effects of off-angled substrates on the surface morphologies and crystal quality of as-grown β-Ga2O3 films were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the surface morphologies and crystal quality of β-Ga2O3 films grown on the off-angled sapphire substrates were effectively improved, compared with that of the films grown on (0 0 01 ) sapphire. The quadrilateral domains growth mode was observed by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction φ-scans of as-grown β-Ga2O3 films. When the off-angle of (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrate was ~7°, β-Ga2O3 films exhibited the flatter surface morphology and the better crystal quality. The results would be helpful for the hetero-epitaxy of high-quality Ga2O3 films with smooth surface.

GaN pyramid arrays have been successfully synthesized by selective photo-assisted chemical etching in a K2S2O8/KOH solution. A detailed analysis of time evolution of surface morphology has been conducted, which describes an etching process of GaN pyramids. Room temperature cathodoluminescence images indicate that these pyramids are composed of crystalline GaN surrounding dislocations, which is caused by the greater recombination rate of electrons and holes at dislocation than that of crystalline GaN. The Raman results show a stress relaxation in GaN pyramids compared with unetched GaN. The optical property of both unetched GaN and GaN pyramids has been studied by photoluminescence. The formation mechanism and feature of GaN pyramids are also rationally explained.

A CdZnO/ZnO multiple quantum-well light-emitting diode (LED) structure was successfully grown by using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on a p-GaN template that had been grown by using metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition on a c-sapphire substrate. The properties of the sample were characterized by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements. The light output performance of the CdZnO/ZnO QW LED device was also investigated in detail by using I-V and electroluminescence spectral measurements. The characterization showed that our CdZnO/ZnO QW LED structure had good crystalline quality and weaker carrier localization. Owing to the heterojunction structure, the I-V curve indicated that the LED device had a higher turn-on voltage and series resistance. The EL measurement demonstrated that for our LED device’s optoelectronic characteristic, the carrier-screening effect played the dominant role in the emission-energy blue-shift mechanism, and the broadening of the emission energy width was mainly ascribed to the band-filling effect. Without a special heat sinking, the L-I curve exhibited slight efficiency droop after 30 mA.

The InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with truncated pyramid structure have been successfully epitaxially grown on the GaN hexagonal pyramids template through a simple and low-cost etch-regrown process. GaN hexagonal pyramids template was contained by a convenient photo-assisted chemical (PAC) etching method. The truncated pyramids are composed of { 10 1 ¯ 1 ¯ } and { 11 2 ¯ 2 } semi-polar facets as well as (0001) polar facet. It was observed that the InGaN/GaN MQWs substantially emitted broad spectrum with multiple peaks by room temperature photoluminescence (PL). The cathodoluminescence of MQWs red-shifts as the location moves from bottom to top on the facets due to the indium diffusion mechanism.

The potential of polarized light sources in liquid-crystal displays has been extensively pursued due to the large energy savings as compared to conventional light sources. Here, we demonstrate high-brightness polarized green light emission from an InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) structure by combining the strong coupling between surface plasmons (SPs) and multiple quantum wells and polarization effects of SPs. As compared to the as-grown LED structure, a significant enhancement is observed in the total light emission with a high polarization degree of 54%. This work might provide an efficient way to realize simple, compact, and high-efficiency polarized light emission devices for applications in electro-optical integration.

III-Nitride semiconductor materials are considered as promising candidates for photoelectrodes (PEs) due to their adjustable direct band gap covering a very broad spectral range. In this study, InGaN/GaN based p–i–n photoelectrodes have been fabricated and nano-sized surface roughening process has been applied. The photocurrent gets 2.5 times enhancement and the incident photon conversion efficiency (IPCE) is improved to be ∼30% at the wavelength of 400 nm. In addition, the turn-on voltages of InGaN/GaN-based PEs have been effectively reduced from +0.8 V down to about −0.4 V (vs. reversible hydrogen potential, RHE). Such improvements are mainly attributed to reduced dislocation density, increased surface area, and optimized build-in electrical field. These findings give innovative insight to improve photoelectrochemical devices for hydrogen generation.

InGaN/GaN single nanorod (NR) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have successfully been fabricated by nanoimprint lithography and focused ion beam-induced deposition. The current–voltage characteristics of single NR LEDs show low leakage current of $2\times 10^{\mathrm {-12}}$ A at a reverse bias of −5 V and turn-ON voltage of $\sim 3.8$ V. Linear polarization-oriented parallel to the $c$ -axis with a degree of $\sim 50$ % was discovered from the electroluminescence emission of single NR LEDs.

Stress-free InN nanowires (NWs) have been grown on Au/graphene/GaN/sapphire substrate by atmospheric pressure metal-In sublimation method. The phonon E2(high) and A1(LO) mode in Raman spectra of InN grown on graphene is observed at 490.8 and 585 cm−1 respectively, which is similar to that of bulk InN. The high resolution TEM (HRTEM) image of InN NWs shows that the interplanar spacing of (0 0 0 2) and (1 1 −2 0) are 2.85 A and 1.77 A, which is according with the XRD result. All the results confirm that Au-catalyst assists the growth of InN NWs, and the stress is released by the aid of the graphene inter-layer.

A new process is presented for fabricating enhanced-efficiency micro-pixelated vertical-structured light-emitting diode (µVLED) arrays based on ion-implantation technology. High-resistivity selective regions are locally introduced in the n-GaN layer by ion implantation and then used as effective and non-destructive electrical isolation for realizing µVLED arrays with ultra-small pixel diameters. The implantation energy-dependent and size-dependent opto-electrical characteristics of fluorine (F-) implanted µVLED arrays are investigated systematically. The results show that the optimally designed F- ion implantation not only can achieve smaller reverse leakage current but also can realize ion-induced thermal relaxation effectively and is more suited for fabricating high-resolution µVLED arrays with higher optical output power. For the F--implanted µVLED array with pixel diameters of 10 µm, a measured output power density reaches a value of 82.1 W cm−2 at a high injection current density of 220 A cm−2, before power saturation. Further, the output power densities and external quantum efficiencies of F--implanted µVLED arrays with pixel diameters less than 10µm show strong dependences on pixel size due to the presence of defects-related SRH process. So, the high-efficiency µVLED arrays with ultra-small pixel sizes could be fabricated by an appropriately designed ion implantation combined with control of defect densities to meet the industrial requirement of microdisplay applications.

Itch is an evolutionarily conserved sensation that facilitates expulsion of pathogens and noxious stimuli from the skin. However, in organ failure, cancer, and chronic inflammatory disorders such as atopic dermatitis (AD), itch becomes chronic, intractable, and debilitating. In addition to chronic itch, patients often experience intense acute itch exacerbations. Recent discoveries have unearthed the neuroimmune circuitry of itch, leading to the development of anti-itch treatments. However, mechanisms underlying acute itch exacerbations remain overlooked. Herein, we identify that a large proportion of patients with AD harbor allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) and exhibit a propensity for acute itch flares. In mice, while allergen-provoked acute itch is mediated by the mast cell-histamine axis in steady state, AD-associated inflammation renders this pathway dispensable. Instead, a previously unrecognized basophil-leukotriene (LT) axis emerges as critical for acute itch flares. By probing fundamental itch mechanisms, our study highlights a basophil-neuronal circuit that may underlie a variety of neuroimmune processes.

In this paper, we demonstrate high-performance lateral AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) on Si substrate with a recessed-anode structure. The optimized rapid etch process provides results in improving etching quality with a 0.26-nm roughness of the anode recessed surface. By using the high work function metal Pt as the Schottky electrode, a low turn-on voltage of 0.71 V is obtained with a high uniformity of ±0.023 V for 40 devices. Supported by the flat anode recess surface and related field plate design, the SBD device with the anode–cathode spacing of 15 μm show the specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) of 1.53 mΩ·cm2 only, the physical breakdown voltage can reach 1678 V with a high power figure-of-merit (P-FOM) of 1840 MW/cm2. For the SBD device with the anode–cathode spacing of 30 μm, the physical breakdown voltage can be as high as 2705 V and the power FOM is 2217 MW/cm2.

In this paper, vertically aligned GaN@Ga2O3 core-shell heterostructured nanowire arrays have been fabricated by thermal oxidation of GaN nanowire arrays. GaN nanowire arrays have been prepared by inductively coupled plasma etching. The GaN@Ga2O3 nanowire arrays have the good morphology and the thickness of the Ga2O3 shell can be controlled by the oxidation duration and temperature. The photocatalytic activity of vertically aligned GaN@Ga2O3 nanowires has been first evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B solution. Compared with the original GaN nanowires and the oxidized Ga2O3 nanowires, GaN@Ga2O3 nanowires exhibit superior photocatalytic activity. This finding suggests that GaN nanowire arrays with enhanced photocatalytic activity could be obtained by construct heterostructured GaN-based nanocomposite, which provides a new possibility for photocatalytic applications.

Resonance effects caused by the photon–electron interaction are a focus of attention in semiconductor optoelectronics, as they are able to increase the efficiency of emission. GaN-on-silicon microdisks can provide a perfect cavity structure for such resonance to occur. Here we report GaN-based microdisks with different diameters, based on a standard blue LED wafer on a Si substrate. A confocal photoluminescence spectroscopy is performed to analyze the properties of all microdisks. Then, we systematically study the effects of radial modes and axial modes of these microdisks on photon–electron coupling efficiency by using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations. For thick microdisks, photon–electron coupling efficiency is found to greatly depend on the distributions of both the radial modes and the axial modes, and the inclined sidewalls make significant influences on the axial mode distributions. These results are important for realization of high-efficiency resonant emission in GaN-based microcavity devices.

In this paper, the self-absorption of InGaN quantum wells at high photon density is studied based on a rectangular ridge structure. The ridge structure was fabricated based on a standard GaN-based blue LED wafer grown on (0001) patterned sapphire substrate. The high-density photons were obtained by a high-power femtosecond laser with high excitation of 42 k W / c m 2 at room temperature. Based on the analysis of the photoluminescence intensities of the InGaN quantum wells, we found that the absorption coefficient of the InGaN quantum wells varies with the background photon density. The results revealed that the final absorption coefficient of the InGaN quantum well decreases with the increase of photon density, which can be 48.7% lower than its normal value under our experimental conditions.

The GaN-based hexagonal microcavities with 7.2 μm diameters have been demonstrated on Si substrate, and the lasing action have been attained by optical pumping at room temperature. The stimulation indicates the mode competition and the winner.

Although acute itch has a protective role by removing irritants to avoid further damage, chronic itch is debilitating, significantly impacting quality of life. Over the past two decades, a considerable amount of stimulating research has been carried out to delineate mechanisms of itch at the molecular, cellular, and circuit levels. There is growing evidence that transient receptor potential (TRP) channels play important roles in itch signaling. The purpose of this review is to summarize our current knowledge about the role of TRP channels in the generation of itch under both physiological and pathological conditions, thereby identifying them as potential drug targets for effective anti-itch therapies.

We have designed one kind of optical filters based on double stacks of 13.5-pairs SiO 2 /Si 3 N 4 dielectric distributed Bragg reflector (DDBR) structures, to realize the passband with different central wavelengths in ultraviolet (UV) range. These SiO 2 /Si 3 N 4 multi-layers have been successfully fabricated on (0001) sapphire substrates by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The reflectance spectra measured by the UV–visible spectrometer manifest that a series of band-pass filters with fixed passband width of ∼30 nm and central passband varied from 310 nm to 370 nm have been obtained successfully. Besides, the other series of filters with passband width varied from 30 nm to 45 nm can be achieved. With good control of PECVD deposition parameters, all samples exhibit smooth surface with root mean square roughness less than 4.5 nm. Moreover, cross-section scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show these DDBR structures have good periodicity in accordance with the design, indicating that these band-pass filter structures are suitable for wavelength-window-selection UV photodetectors.

We report the fabrication of gallium nitride (GaN)-based light-emitting diode (LED) with uniform and monolayer graphene as transparent current spreading layer. Two-dimensional graphene successfully provides efficient current spreading and hole injection into the active layers of the LEDs for light emission. To further reduce the ohmic contact resistance between p-GaN and graphene film, ultrathin NiOx inter-layer is introduced in the device, improving its electrical and optical performance.

High-quality AlInGaN film grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition is realized by fabricating the AlGaN/InGaN short-period superlattices, and then, Schottky contacts are fabricated on the AlInGaN superlattices. The crystal quality of AlInGaN superlattice samples is characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, and the correlation between the compositions of AlInGaN and growth condition is further clarified. The current transport mechanisms of the Pt/Au Schottky contacts to AlInGaN superlattice samples with different background carrier concentrations are studied by current–voltage (I–V) characteristics and theory analysis based on the thermionic emission (TE) and thermionic field emission (TFE) models. It is found that the results obtained from the TE and TFE models are almost identical for the Schottky contact to strain-balanced AlInGaN sample with low background carrier concentration, indicating that the thermionic emission is a dominant current transport mechanism. However, the Schottky contacts fabricated using high background carrier concentration AlInGaN samples demonstrate degraded barrier characteristics due to an occurrence of donor-like defects which result in the defect-assisted tunneling current, and thus, the combination of tunneling transport and thermionic emission constitutes the current transport mechanisms in Schottky contacts.