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As the size of micro light-emitting diodes (μLEDs) decreases, μLEDs encounter etching damage especially at the sidewalls that critically affects their properties. In this study, we investigated the influence of etching bias power (Pbias) on the performance of μLEDs and found that the current–voltage and light output–current characteristics of μLEDs were enhanced when Pbias was reduced. It was shown that at low Pbias, the chemical reaction between etching gas and gallium nitride, rather than ion sputtering, dominated the etching process, leading to low plasma damage and rough surface morphology. Additionally, to understand the etching-induced surface roughening behaviors, various substrates with different threading dislocation densities were treated at low Pbias. It was found that for the sample (with p-contact size of 10 × 10 μm2), the efficiency droop was approximately 20%, although the current reached 10 mA due most probably to the suppressed polarization effect in the quantum well. It was further observed that the external quantum efficiency (EQE) was dependent on Pbias, where the lowest Pbias yielded the highest maximum EQE, indicating that the plasma damage was mitigated by reducing Pbias. Optimization of dry etching and polarization-suppression conditions could pave the way for realizing high-performance and brightness μLEDs for next-generation displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-planar growth of UV-A laser diode heterostructures composed of AlGaN layers with high Al-mole-fractions and thicknesses exceeding the critical layer thickness was performed on patterned c-plane GaN (0001) substrates with stripe-shaped mesa structures. This approach suppressed the surface cracking at the top of the mesas via an anisotropic relaxation of the in-plane strain along the direction normal to the mesa stripes. Stimulated emission and laser operation at room temperature with emission in the UV-A range under pulsed current injection were demonstrated for laser diodes fabricated on the mesas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated a fabrication process for the Ohmic contact on low-doping-density p-type GaN with nitrogen-annealed Mg. An Ohmic contact with a contact resistance of 0.158 Ω cm2 is realized on p−-GaN ([Mg] = 1.3 × 1017 cm−3). The contact resistance of p-type GaN with higher Mg concentration ([Mg]=1.0 × 1019 cm−3) can also be reduced to 2.8 × 10−5 Ω cm2. A localized contact layer is realized without any etching or regrowth damage. The mechanism underlying this reduced contact resistance is studied by scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry, representing a mutual diffusion of Ga and Mg atoms on the interface. Reductions in the barrier height and surface depletion width with the nitrogen-annealed Mg layer are confirmed by XPS and Hall effect measurements qualitatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, gallium nitride (GaN) samples implanted with magnesium (Mg) and fluorine (F) ions are investigated by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. In low‐temperature PL measurements, the characteristic green luminescence (GL) band attributable to nitrogen vacancies (VN) is observed in Mg‐ion‐implanted GaN. As VN are likely to act as donors, suppressing their formation is essential to realizing p‐type conductivity. The energy required for a F impurity to replace VN in GaN and eventually form F on a N site decreases when the Fermi level approaches the valence band maximum, and therefore F is employed as a subsequent implantation element to compensate for VN. The GL band peak disappears upon implanting Mg and F ions at a high temperature and adjusting the F concentration to an appropriate value. This result suggests that VN generated by Mg ion implantation can be suppressed using an element with a lower formation energy than that of VN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Low impurities concentration in GaN grown by MOVPE using quartz free reactor. • N-polar GaN atomic steps with double height. • Different off-cut angle N-polar GaN for homo-epitaxial growth. Abstract This study examines the effect of (0 0 0 −1) GaN substrate misorientation on the residual impurities and surface morphology of N-polar GaN grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. Carbon, silicon, and oxygen concentrations decreased with increasing GaN substrate misorientation angle, with the lowest impurity concentration achieved for a misorientation angle of 2° toward the m-axis, with 6 × 1015 cm−3 carbon, 6 × 1015 cm−3 silicon, and 4 × 1017 cm−3 oxygen atoms. The oxygen concentration was measured at a depth of 0.5 μm below the wafer surface, and the oxygen concentration decreased with increasing thickness. The incorporation of carbon and oxygen revealed a strong dependence on the misorientation angle. The step distance height of the steps parallel to the [1 1 −2 0] direction (or perpendicular to the [1 −1 0 0] m-direction) was confirmed to be a double-height layer step. This phenomenon indicated that m-direction steps are stable for N-polar growth in GaN. In cases of large misorientation toward the m-axis in of the GaN substrate it was difficult to control the misorientation perpendicular to the nominal direction leading to a-axis direction by wafer bowing at wafer manufacturing. Therefore, step-bunching was generated for each symmetric m-axis due to an increase in the compound's off-angle, thus causing the surface roughness to become large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, GaN m‐plane Schottky barrier diodes are fabricated by metalorganic vapor‐phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on several off‐angle gallium nitride (GaN) substrates, and the off‐cut angle dependence of impurity incorporation is investigated. We show that the MOVPE layer on the substrate inclined 5° toward the [000–1] direction has extremely low impurity incorporation. These results provide important suggestions for the fabrication of m‐plane power devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dislocations that cause a reverse leakage current in vertical p-n diodes on a GaN free-standing substrate were investigated. Under a high reverse bias, dot-like leakage spots were observed using an emission microscope. Subsequent cathodoluminescence (CL) observations revealed that the leakage spots coincided with part of the CL dark spots, indicating that some types of dislocation cause reverse leakage. When etch pits were formed on the dislocations by KOH etching, three sizes of etch pits were obtained (large, medium, and small). Among these etch pits, only the medium pits coincided with leakage spots. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that pure screw dislocations are present under the leakage spots. The results revealed that 1c pure screw dislocations are related to the reverse leakage in vertical p-n diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MOCVD was used to grow crack-free AlGaN films on non-planar GaN substrates. • The AlGaN films exceed the critical layer thickness on GaN planar mesa substrates. • The AlGaN composition and thickness limits for crack-free layers was established. • The effect of mesa width and depth on AlGaN layer cracking was evaluated. Non-planar growth of Al x Ga 1- x N epitaxial layers with an average alloy composition up to Al-mole-fraction of x ∼ 0.21 was performed on patterned c -plane GaN on (0001) sapphire substrates with stripe-shaped mesa structures. This approach successfully realized the growth of crack-free AlGaN layers on the top of mesas with layer thicknesses greater than the expected critical layer thickness by relaxing the in-plane stress on the top of the mesa. The effectiveness of the relaxation strongly depends on the width and depth of the stripe mesa. The relaxation of in-plane stress and resultant suppression of cracks in AlGaN layer are qualitatively discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, GaN m-plane Schottky barrier diodes fabricated with a metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy on a GaN substrate were investigated using emission microscope, photoluminescence, and cathodoluminescence. In addition, facet dependence of leakage current under reverse-biased condition was observed. We showed that the leakage-current distribution was caused by the facet dependence of the carrier concentration and oxygen concentration. These results can provide important suggestions for the fabrication of m-plane devices. (a) four-faceted hillocks on m-plane GaN MOVPE sample, facet dependence of (b) leakage current and (c) PL peak intensity of the m-plane GaN Schottky barrier diode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The macroscopic morphology changes depending on the off-angle and its direction. • Macrostep and hillock form growth is observed below a certain off angle. • The lowest off-angle at which smooth morphology can be obtained is direction-dependent. • The m -direction provide the lowest off-angle and the step flow growth. • The off-angle and off-directions are important factors for morphologies control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]