Semiconductor quantum well structures have been critical to the development of modern photonics and solid-state optoelectronics. Quantum level tunable structures have introduced new transformative device applications and afforded myriad groundbreaking studies of fundamental quantum phenomena. However, non-colloidal, III-V compound quantum well structures are limited to traditional semiconductor materials fabricated by stringent epitaxial growth processes. This report introduces artificial multiple quantum wells (MQWs) built from CsPbBr3 perovskite materials using commonly available thermal evaporator systems. These perovskite-based MQWs are spatially aligned on a large-area substrate with multiple stacking and systematic control over well/barrier thicknesses, resulting in tunable optical properties and a carrier confinement effect. The fabricated CsPbBr3 artificial MQWs can be designed to display a variety of photoluminescence (PL) characteristics, such as a PL peak shift commensurate with the well/barrier thickness, multi-wavelength emissions from asymmetric quantum wells, the quantum tunneling effect, and long-lived hot carrier states. These new artificial MQWs pave the way toward widely available semiconductor heterostructures for light-conversion applications that are not restricted by periodicity or a narrow set of dimensions.

We report an engineering approach not only to delay hot carrier equilibrium but also to slow the cooling rate of CsPbBr₃-based multiple quantum wells (MQWs), as evident from femtosecond transient absorption measurements and density functional theory calculations. Three energetically cascaded CsPbBr₃ perovskite layers (stacked with thicknesses of 3, 7, and 20 nm for asymmetric MQWs and 20, 20, and 20 nm for symmetric MQWs) are separated by a 5 nm organic barrier of 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline. Time-resolved data demonstrate that the sequential hot-electron transfer between CsPbBr₃ layers mediates the delayed hot carrier equilibrium in the asymmetric MQWs. Interestingly, the delayed hot carrier equilibrium is followed by a much slower relaxation in asymmetric MQWs (40 ps) than symmetric ones (3.2 ps), which could be attributed to the decoupling of a hot electron–hole originating from hot electron transfer. Our findings provide a promising approach for efficient hot carrier extraction in solar cells that exceed the Shockley–Queisser limit.

We demonstrate the high efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) light-emitting diode (LED) grown on the electrochemically etched nanoporous (NP) GaN. The photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectra show that the LEDs with NP GaN have a strong carrier localization effect resulting from the relaxed strain and reduced defect density in MQWs. Also, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation shows that the light extraction efficiency (LEE) is increased by light scattering effect by nanopores. The output power of LED with NP GaN is increased up to 123.1% at 20 mA, compared to that of LED without NP GaN. The outstanding performance of LEDs with NP GaN is attributed to the increased internal quantum efficiency (IQE) by the carrier localization in the indium-rich clusters, low defect density in MQWs, and increased LEE owing to the light scattering in NP GaN.

The light to be trapped inside light-emitting diodes (LEDs) greatly affects the luminous efficiency and device lifetime. Abrupt difference in refractive index between the sapphire substrate and GaN-based LEDs causes light trapping by total internal reflection, however, its optical loss has been taken for granted. In this study, we demonstrate that nanoporous GaN can be used as a refractive-index-matching layer to enhance the light transmittance at the sapphire–GaN interface in InGaN/GaN flip-chip light-emitting diodes (FCLEDs). The porosity and the refractive index of the nanoporous GaN layer are controlled by electrochemical etching of n -type GaN layer. The optical output power of FCLEDs with the nanoporous GaN layer grown on flat and patterned sapphire substrates is increased by 355% and 65% at an injection current of 20 mA, respectively, compared with that of an FCLED without the nanoporous GaN layer. The remarkable enhancement of optical output is mostly attributed to the nanoporous GaN layer which drastically increases the light extraction efficiency by decreasing the reflection of light at the sapphire–GaN interface.

We report the growth of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on a silicon (111) substrate with an embedded nanoporous (NP) GaN layer. The NP GaN layer is fabricated by electrochemical etching of n-type GaN on the silicon substrate. The crystalline quality of crack-free GaN grown on the NP GaN layer is remarkably improved and the residual tensile stress is also decreased. The optical output power is increased by 120% at an injection current of 20 mA compared with that of conventional LEDs without a NP GaN layer. The large enhancement of optical output power is attributed to the reduction of threading dislocation, effective scattering of light in the LED, and the suppression of light propagation into the silicon substrate by the NP GaN layer.