Review—Recent Advances and Challenges in Indium Gallium Nitride (In_xGa_1-xN) Materials for Solid State Lighting

Abstract

In recent times, the demand for electrical energy is increased to such an extent that the scientific research has to be focused on the development of materials that fulfil the growing demands of energy for efficient solid state lighting purposes and provide clean and green energy to mitigate the alarming effects of climate change. The ternary Indium Gallium Nitride (In x Ga 1-x N) alloys have emerged as the potential candidate for Solid State lighting as they inherent such attributes that make them capable for these applications. In this review, the attributes of In x Ga 1-x N alloys have been discussed. The dependence of bandgap and bowing parameter on the composition of In x Ga 1-x N alloys along with various techniques employed for the growth of these alloys in bulk and nanostructure forms have been reviewed. The recent advances in In x Ga 1-x N based nanostructures for Solid State lighting have also been extensively reviewed. The challenges that are to be overcome for potential use of In x Ga 1-x N alloys like phase segregation, unavailability of a suitable substrate, polarization and doping have been thoroughly highlighted. In the end, the conclusion and future scope of work on these wonderful classes of materials has been drawn.

Effect of in content on thermoelectric performance of In Ga1−N alloys: Hybrid density functional theory study based on realistic models

“…A large value of b gap indicates a strong influence of the alloys concentration on the energy gap. Our value of b gap = 2.12 eV is close to the value of 3.2 eV determined recently for strained ternary alloys by Kour et al [54].…”

“…Hence, by varying the In composition, the band gap can cover the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the visible to ultraviolet regions, making these ternaries suitable for use in various optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes and light-emitting diodes [6,7,8]. Moreover, these alloys exhibit strong optical absorption, 10 4 − 10 5 cm −1 , which changes according to the percentage of indium, and thus they are adequate chemical sensors with a high saturation rate [9,10,11]. In addition to the aforementioned properties, In x Ga 1−x N possess interesting thermoelectric characteristics because the percentage of indium tunes the direct band gap but also affects the thermal conductivity [12].…”

Dependence of defect structure on In concentration in InGaN epilayers grown on AlN/Si(111) substrate

“…This leads to formation of 3D islands, resulting into high surface roughness along with inhomogeneous composition in the alloy 12,[18][19][20] . Moreover, at the typical temperatures for InGaN growth, the desorption rate of In is lower than the decomposition rate of In-N bonds, making the accumulation of In droplets on the substrate surface unavoidable 21,22 . The majority of InGaN ternary alloy are predicted to be thermodynamically unstable and show a tendency towards clustering and phase separation 23 .…”

“…12,[18][19][20] Moreover, at the temperatures typical for InGaN growth, the desorption rate of In is lower than the decomposition rate of In-N bonds, making the accumulation of In droplets on the substrate surface unavoidable. 21,22 The majority of InGaN ternary alloys are predicted to be thermodynamically unstable and show a tendency towards clustering and phase separation. 23 Therefore, a goodquality InGaN layer needs an appropriate substrate temperature along with proper In incorporation to avoid the phase separation.…”

Determination of crystallization conditions of Ge/GaAs heterostructures in scanning LPE method

“…To date, basic methods to fabricate various heterostructures for device applications are metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy, metal organic chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy [1][2][3]. Many of these deposition techniques are difficult to apply over a large area and are expensive due to complexity of the apparatus used.…”