Absorption and emission properties of light emitting diode structures containing GaInN/GaN QWs

Abstract

In this work we present measurements of GaInN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) with an active layer consisting of three quantum wells made of Ga 0.9In0.10N that have different widths (1.8 nm, 2.7 nm, 3.7 nm). A comparison of emission and absorption (photocurrent) on the same sample revealed a shift in energy, with the emission energy being significantly lower. The shifts are about 0.02 eV, 0.03 eV, and 0.04 eV for the quantum wells having the widths of 1.8 nm, 2.7 nm, and 3.7 nm, respectively. This can be explained by a shift of the ground state energy caused by the quantum confined Stark effect. Calculations show that due to the spontaneous polarization and the piezoelectric effect a strong electric field of the order of 1 MV/cm was present in the GaInN quantum wells. Simulations of ground-state energies in the model of an infinite square well under the influence of an electric field with a matched effective well width were performed and used to interpret the experimental results.