III‐Nitride Nanowires as Building Blocks for Advanced Light Emitting Diodes

Abstract

This article presents a discussion on the role of nanowire (NW) structures, prepared by reactive ion etching (RIE), in planar III‐nitride light emitting diodes (LEDs) for increasing the functionality, improving the crystalline quality, enhancing the quantum efficiency of radiative recombination, and improving the light extraction efficiency. The methods of NW fabrication by RIE, of suppressing the adverse effects of RIE‐related damage, and of incorporating air voids into the NWs are also discussed. Furthermore, metal nanoparticles producing localized surface plasmons and semiconductor quantum dots downconverting the wavelength of light emitted by LEDs are explored.

Eu3+ optical activation engineering in Al Ga1-N nanowires for red solid-state nano-emitters

“…The nanowire (NW) configuration in semiconductor systems such as oxides, nitrides, and arsenides is highly promising for the next generation nanoscale photonic, optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices thanks to the characteristic large area to volume ratio [1][2][3]. In particular, for light-emitting devices, it was demonstrated that group III-nitride (III-N) NWs can achieve higher light extraction compared to their 2D counterparts [4,5]. Furthermore, the efficient strain relaxation during NW growth allows the use of highly lattice-mismatched substrates (e.g., silicon) with a reduced density of extended defects compared to thin-film epitaxy, facilitating their compatibility with current microtechnology.…”

Vertical GaN Nanowires and Nanoscale Light-Emitting-Diode Arrays for Lighting and Sensing Applications

“…Among them, nanowires made of direct-band gap III–V nitride semiconductors (e.g., gallium nitride (GaN)) have attracted a great deal of attention, since these 3D GaN building blocks have several superior properties compared to other semiconductor materials, such as wide band gap, relatively high electron mobility, thermal stability, and robustness. This leads to their usages not only in solid-state lighting as indium gallium nitride (InGaN)/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) but also in other applications (e.g., monolithic integrated nanofield-effect transistors (FETs), , nanomechanical force sensors, , and noninvasive biomedical sensors). In the later applications, InGaN/GaN LED with blue light emission (λ = 465 nm) can even enhance the biosensing platform with monolithic optical excitation and simultaneous biomolecule imaging for lab-on-chip microscopy. , …”

“…Even so, the problems on distribution, morphology, and size uniformity for the grown nanowires may limit a reliable nanoscale device fabrication that often needs precisely controlled nanostructures. Moreover, so far, a large scale fabrication method with homogeneous nanowires still cannot be resolved by bottom-up methods. , Therefore, a top-down approach combining nanolithography and etching processes is explored as an alternative method to obtain a higher control in reproducibility and addressability of the produced nanowires.…”

“…Moreover, so far, a large scale fabrication method with homogeneous nanowires still cannot be resolved by bottom-up methods. 2,6 Therefore, a top-down approach combining nanolithography and etching processes is explored as an alternative method to obtain a higher control in reproducibility and addressability of the produced nanowires.…”

Defect‐Induced Effects in Nanomaterials

“…A.Ya. Polyakov et al discuss the role of nanowire structures prepared by reactive ion etching in planar III‐nitride light emitting diodes in increasing functionality, improving the crystalline quality, enhancing the quantum efficiency of radiative recombination and the light extraction efficiency. S. Lancaster et al revealed the influence of boron antisite defects on the electrical properties of MBE‐grown GaAs nanowires.…”