One-dimensional nanowires based on Group III-nitride materials are emerging as one of the most promising structures for applications of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes (LDs), solar cells, and photocatalysts. However, leading to the so-called “green gap” in photonics, the fabrication of high concentration indium gallium nitride (InGaN) and long-InGaN structures remains still challenging. In this study, we performed simulations for structural modeling of uniform temperature distribution in a nanowire epitaxy, and have successfully developed high-concentration InGaN and long-InGaN nanowire heterostructures on silicon (Si) substrate using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system. From scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results, it was confirmed that the various doped-InGaN nanowire structures show much higher crystal quality compared to conventional nanowire structures. By introducing a new three-step modulated growth technique, the n-/p-InGaN active regions were greatly increased and the optical properties were also dramatically improved due to reduced phase separation. In addition, a multi-band p-InGaN/GaN heterostructure was successfully fabricated with the core–shell nanowire structures, which enable the emission of light in the entire visible spectral range, and protect the InGaN surface from surface recombination. This paper offers important insight into the design and epitaxial growth of InGaN nanowire heterostructures.
The extended reality (XR) display, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), requires ultrahigh-resolution and high-luminance pixel technology. GaN-based micro-LEDs are the most promising for high-density pixel applications. However, it is necessary to simultaneously fabricate full-color R/G/B emitters on a single substrate. Moreover, the efficiency droop at long wavelengths with high-indium InGaN still remains a challenge. The InGaN nanorod has the potential to realize monolithic R/G/B LEDs on a single substrate, and the Al reflector has a light reflectance that can dramatically improve light extraction efficiency. Here, we designed sub-micron monolithic full-color R/G/B nanorod LEDs with an Al core-shell reflector on single chip. The optimal structures for light confinement and vertical light extraction by single InGaN nanorod R/G/B LED structures were identified. The single nanorod with Al core-shell structure dramatically increased the light extraction efficiency, and showed an improvement of more than 20%, especially in the red wavelength. As a result, by introducing a long-length nanorod structure, we have successfully designed a new submicron pixel with full-color R/G/B LEDs operating within 1 μm × 1 μm size. This unique design will be a key factor in enabling the next generation of AR and VR displays that require ultra-small and compact pixels.