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The growth mechanism of V-defects in GaN films was investigated. It was observed that the crystal faces of both the sidewall of a V-defect and the sidewall of the GaN film boundary belong to the same plane family of \{ {{{10\bar 11}}} \}, which suggests that the formation of the V-defect is a direct consequence of spontaneous growth like that of the boundary facet. However, the growth rate of the V-defect sidewall is much faster than that of the boundary facet when the V-defect is filling up, implying that lateral growth of \{ {{{10\bar 11}}} \} planes is not the direct cause of the change in size of V-defects. Since V-defects originate from dislocations, an idea was proposed to correlate the growth of V-defects with the presence of dislocations. Specifically, the change in size of the V-defect is determined by the growth rate around dislocations and the growth rate around dislocations is determined by the growth conditions.

Indium nitride (InN) has attracted much attention due to its high electron mobility and peak electron velocity, which make it suitable for fabrication of high-speed electronic devices. In this work, we report the low temperature growth of polycrystalline InN on non-crystalline substrates by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD). InN thin film is amorphous in nature during the initial growth stage. With the increasing growth cycles, the starting nuclei compete for space respectively and select orientations of crystal. After about 800–1200 cycles, the nuclei will grow on the suitable planes and the film turn into polycrystalline. The amorphous to polycrystalline transition of InN film is revealed definitively by the evolution of XRD patterns and the intensity of diffraction peaks with the growth cycles.

The effect of the number of wells on quantum efficiency and forward voltage of vertical green InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on Si substrate has been experimentally investigated. We have prepared three LED samples with 3, 5 and 7 wells. Electroluminescence measurement shows that the LED with 5 wells has the highest external quantum efficiency (EQE) and the lowest forward voltage. It is observed that V-shaped pits grow up in size and density with an increase in quantum well number by means of scan electron microscope. Due to more hole injection via V-shaped pits, a larger area ratio of pits as a result of more number of wells would bring a lower forward voltage and a higher EQE. However, besides the increasing series resistance would bring a higher forward voltage, the interface of MQWs would become rougher and deteriorate the emission efficiency when increasing the wells number.

The effect of AlGaN interlayer in quantum barrier on the electroluminescence characteristics of GaN-based green light emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on silicon substrate was investigated. The results show that AlGaN interlayer is beneficial to improve the luminous efficiency of LED devices and restrain the phase separation of InGaN. The former is ascribed to the inserted AlGaN layers can play a key role in determining the carrier distribution and screening dislocations in the active region, and the latter is attributed to the increased compressive stress in the quantum well. However, when the electrical stress aging tests were performed at a current density of 100 A/cm2, LED devices with AlGaN interlayers are more likely to induce the generation/proliferation of defects in the active region under the effect of electrical stress, resulting in the reduced light output power at low current density.

It is demonstrated by use of the secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) some impurities, including Si, Mg and Ca, can be doped into GaN films with depths of ten nanometer and quite high surface densities in plasma without any external bias at room-temperature (RT). The physical mechanism of plasma doping without any external bias (PDWOEB) is RT diffusion stimulated by the plasma, which is very different from that of the plasma doping method with an external bias, which was called plasma immersion ion implantation in literature, whose physical mechanism is low energy ion implantation. Stimulated by a plasma with power of 750 W in 2 min, the RT diffusion coefficients of Si, Mg and Ca in GaN obtained by fitting the complementary error function distribution with their SIMS concentration distributions are 1.3E−15, 1.9E−16 and 1.2E−16 cm2/s, respectively. The RT diffusion coefficients of Si and Mg have been enhanced 18 and 22 orders of magnitude, respectively, compared with the RT extrapolation values of the high temperature diffusion coefficients reported in literature.

An error in the article by Gao, Zhang, Zhu, Wu, Mo, Pan, Liu & Jiang [J. Appl. Cryst. (2019), 52, 637–642] is corrected.

GaN-based yellow light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on Si substrates are aged at a direct current density of 50 A/cm2 for 500 h. After the aging process, it can be found that the LEDs have a stable electrical property but their light output power is decayed by 4.01% at 35 A/cm2. Additionally, the aging mechanism of GaN-based yellow LED is analyzed. It is found that the decay of light output power may be attributed to the following two reasons: one is the increase of Shockley–Rrad–Hall recombination and the other is the change of the transport path of holes via V-pits after aging, which may induce the radiative recombination current to decrease. In this paper, not only the aging mechanism of GaN-based yellow LED is investigated, but also a new possible research direction in LED aging is given.

The impact of the V-pits covering layer (VCL) position on the optoelectronic performance of InGaN-based green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was investigated. It is found that earlier covering of V-pits will hinder the hole injection via the sidewall of V-pits, and then result in less quantum wells (QWs) participating in radioluminescence. The current-voltage characteristics show that the LEDs with earlier covering of V-pits have higher operating voltage at room temperature, and a more dramatic voltage rise with the reduction of temperature. Meanwhile, more manifested emission peaks for sidewall QWs and deeper QWs near to n-type layer was observed in the sample with earlier coveing of V-pits at cryogenic temperatures, for the reason that the holes being injected via V-pits sidewall have higher kinetic energy and could transport to deeper QWs.

Realization of efficient yellow-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has always been a challenge in solid-state lighting. Great effort has been made, but only slight advancements have occurred in the past few decades. After comprehensive work on InGaN-based yellow LEDs on Si substrate, we successfully made a breakthrough and pushed the wall-plug efficiency of 565-nm-yellow LEDs to 24.3% at 20 A/cm2 and 33.7% at 3 A/cm2. The success of yellow LEDs can be credited to the improved material quality and reduced compressive strain of InGaN quantum wells by a prestrained layer and substrate, as well as enhanced hole injection by a 3D pn junction with V-pits.

A specially designed InGaN/GaN superlattice (SL) interlayer was inserted between n-GaN and a multiple quantum well to enhance the performance of yellow light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on Si (111). The number of SL periods was determined to be the key to enhancing the external quantum efficiency and reducing forward voltage. Our results show that more SLs could suppress nonradiative recombination by eliminating micron-scale indium-rich clusters and could promote hole injection with increased V-pit size. However, too many SLs reduce the effective luminescence area and lead to many voids formed in the p-type layer. We demonstrate that 32 is the optimum number of SLs for yellow InGaN/GaN LEDs, obtaining a high light output power of 63 mW with a dominant wavelength of 568 nm, and a low forward voltage of 2.38 V at 200 mA (20 A/cm2).

Silicon nitride (Si3N4) nanowires and nanobelts have been successfully prepared via direct crystallization of amorphous Si3N4 nanoparticles under high temperature in a N2 flow. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy, and electron diffraction. They are pure α-phase hexagonal single-crystal structures. The nanowires are long and smooth; nanobelts are long and twisted. In our samples, there exist some special nanostructures, such as wire-inserted hexagonal nanosheet and hollow-chain-shaped structure. The different growth modes were understood upon the observations and characterization of those microstructures. The solid–liquid–solid growth mechanism is also discussed.

This paper describes a simple solution route to ZnS nanotubes assisted by CNTs and to ZnS hollow nanospheres by templating with in situ generated bubbles at low temperature. Two types of nanotube exist. One has two open ends with a very thin wall; the other has a sealed end with a thicker wall. The hollow nanospheres have uniform thickness of nm and they formed dynamically controlled by the quantity of water. HREM results reveal that the nanotubes and hollow nanospheres are both composed of ZnS nanoparticles. The UV–vis absorption spectra exhibit large blue shifts because of quantum size effects. These hollow structures may have potential applications in some areas.

InGaN-based multiple quantum well (MQW) green light-emitting diodes with a InGaN/GaN superlattice as a strain relief layer (SSRL) were grown on Si(111) substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The influences of the thickness ratio of InGaN to GaN in SSRL on the optoelectrical properties have been investigated. Electrical measurements show that the sample with a higher thickness ratio has a lower series resistance. This is mainly ascribed to the improvement of carrier vertical transport due to the thinner GaN in SSRL. However, it is found that the leakage current increases with the thickness ratio from 1:1 to 2.5:1, which could be attributed to the larger density of small size V-pits forming at the first few QW pairs. Compared with the smaller thickness ratio, the sample with a higher thickness ratio of InGaN to GaN in SSRL is found to exhibit larger strain relaxation (about 33.7%), but the electroluminescence measurement exhibits inferior emission efficiency. Carrier leakage via the small V-...

InGaN-based green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with different growth temperatures of superlattice grown on Si (111) substrates are investigated by temperature-dependent electroluminescence between 100 K and 350 K. It is observed that with the decrease of the growth temperature of the superlattice from 895°C to 855°C, the forward voltage decreases, especially at low temperature. We presume that this is due to the existence of the larger average size of V-shaped pits, which is determined by secondary ion mass spectrometer measurements. Meanwhile, the sample with higher growth temperature of superlattice shows a severer efficiency droop at cryogenic temperatures (about 100 K–150 K). Electron overflow into p-GaN is considered to be the cause of such phenomena, which is relevant to the poorer hole injection into multiple quantum wells and the more reduced effective active volume in the active region.

Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we have studied the interface effect on quantum well states of Pb thin films grown on various metal-terminated (Pb, Ag, and Au) n-type Si(111) surfaces and on two different p-type Si(111) surfaces. The dispersion relation E(k) of the electrons of the Pb film and the phase shift at the substrate interface were determined by applying the quantization rule to the measured energy positions of the quantum well states. Characteristic features in the phase shift versus energy curves were identified and were correlated to the directional conduction band of the silicon substrate and to the Schottky barrier formed between the metal film and the semiconductor. A model involving the band structure of the substrate, the Schottky barrier, and the effective thickness of the interface was introduced to qualitatively but comprehensively explain all the observed features of the phase shift at the substrate interface. Our physical understanding of the phase shift is critically important for using interface modification to control the quantum well states.

Atomic manipulation has been rarely used in the studies of complex structures and a low temperature requirement usually limits its application. Herein we have demonstrated a vertical manipulation technique to reproducibly and reversibly manipulating Ag atoms on an Si(111)-(7×7) surface by a scanning tunneling microscope tip at room temperature. Simple and complex Ag nanoclusters were assembled and disassembled with a precise control of single Ag atoms, which provided critical information on the size of these nanoclusters. The manipulation showed the growth processes of these Ag clusters and even partly unveiled their atomic structures. This technique can form a fundamental basis for further studies of the Ag/Si(111)-(7×7) system and for fabricating functional nanodevices in various metal-semiconductor systems.

Since molecular electronics has been rapidly growing as a promising alternative to conventional electronics towards the ultimate miniaturization of electronic devices through the bottom-up strategy, it has become a long-term desire to understand and control the transport properties at the level of single molecules. In this Research News article it is shown that one may modify the electronic states of single molecules and thus control their transport properties through designing and fabrication of functional molecules or manipulating molecules with scanning tunneling microscopy. The rectifying effect of single molecules can be realized by designing a donor-barrier-acceptor architecture of Pyridine-sigma-C(60) molecules to achieve the Aviram-Ratner rectifier and by modifying electronic states through azafullerene C(59)N molecules. The effect of the negative differential resistances can be realized by appropriately matching the molecular orbital symmetries between a cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) molecule and a Ni electrode. The electronic states and transport properties of single molecules, such as CoPc and melamine molecules, can be altered through manipulation or modifying molecular structures, leading to functionalized molecular devices.

We demonstrate in this joint experimental and theoretical study how one can alter electron transport behavior of a single melamine molecule adsorbed on a Cu (100) surface by performing a sequence of elegantly devised and well-controlled single molecular chemical processes. It is found that with a dehydrogenation reaction, the melamine molecule becomes firmly bonded onto the Cu surface and acts as a normal conductor controlled by elastic electron tunneling. A current-induced hydrogen tautomerization process results in an asymmetric melamine tautomer, which in turn leads to a significant rectifying effect. Furthermore, by switching on inelastic multielectron scattering processes, mechanical oscillations of an N-H bond between two configurations of the asymmetric tautomer can be triggered with tuneable frequency. Collectively, this designed molecule exhibits rectifying and switching functions simultaneously over a wide range of external voltage.

GaN-based blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) have undergone great development in recent years, but the improvement of green LEDs is still in progress. Currently, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of GaN-based green LEDs is typically 30%, which is much lower than that of top-level blue LEDs. The current challenge with regard to GaN-based green LEDs is to grow a high quality InGaN quantum well (QW) with low strain. Many techniques of improving efficiency are discussed, such as inserting AlGaN between the QW and the barrier, employing prestrained layers beneath the QW and growing semipolar QW. The recent progress of GaN-based green LEDs on Si substrate is also reported: high efficiency, high power green LEDs on Si substrate with 45.2% IQE at 35 A/cm2, and the relevant techniques are detailed.

After nearly ten years of exploration, our team firstly had a breakthrough in the technologies of materials growth and thin film chip manufacturing for high efficiency GaN based blue LED on silicon substrate in the world. The internal quantum efficiency and extraction efficiency of the vertical structure blue LED chips reached 80%. These LED chips have been realized mass production, and been successfully used in street lamps, miners lamp, down light, bulb light, flashlight and display imaging etc. In this paper, the related key technologies are comprehensive and systematically introduced. Selective-Area-Growth and Maskless-Micro-Epitaxial-Lateral-Overgrowth technologies were invented, by which a high crystalline quality GaN film was achieved with an only 100 nm AlN buffer layer. A set of systemic technologies were invented for manufacturing vertical thin film structure LED on silicon substrate, included high reflectance low resistance P type ohmic contact electrode, high stability low resistance N type electrode ohmic contact, surface roughening, complementary electrode, releasing residual tensile stress of GaN film technologies etc. At 350 mA (35 A/cm2), the light output power of blue LED (450 nm) on silicon is 657 mW, and external quantum efficiency of it is 68.1%.

We report that the Kondo effect exerted by a magnetic ion depends on its chemical environment. A cobalt phthalocyanine molecule adsorbed on an Au(111) surface exhibited no Kondo effect. Cutting away eight hydrogen atoms from the molecule with voltage pulses from a scanning tunneling microscope tip allowed the four orbitals of this molecule to chemically bond to the gold substrate. The localized spin was recovered in this artificial molecular structure, and a clear Kondo resonance was observed near the Fermi surface. We attribute the high Kondo temperature (more than 200 kelvin) to the small on-site Coulomb repulsion and the large half-width of the hybridized d-level.

A novel aligned flower-like array and single-crystal nanosheets composed of ZnS quantum wires were fabricated via a simple solution route. In the method, ZnCl2 chemicals reacted with Na2S in 50 ml of ethylenediamine (en) solution containing different amounts of hydrochloric acid (HCl) at 70-80 degrees C. After annealing at 500 degrees C for 1.5 h, wurtzite phase ZnS nanoscaled materials were synthesized. When the amount of HCl was 2 ml and 3 ml, respectively, flower-like structure and nanosheets were obtained. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM), and electron diffraction (ED). The influences of concentration, temperature, and reaction time on the morphologies and phase of ZnS nanostructures were also studied. The photoluminescence peaks are located at approximately 308 nm and approximately 410 nm. The formation mechanism is also discussed here.