Nanopillar AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were fabricated by nanosphere lithography and dry-etching. The optical properties of the nanopillar LEDs were characterized by both temperature-dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. Compared to an as-grown sample, the nanopillar sample has a PL emission peak blue-shift of 7 meV, a 42% enhanced internal quantum efficiency at room temperature and a reduced radiative recombination lifetime from 870 picosecond to 621 picosecond at 7K. These results are directly from the suppressed quantum confined stark effect that is due to the strain relaxation in the nanopillar MQWs, further revealed by micro-Raman measurement. Additionally, finite-difference time domain simulation also proves better light extraction efficiency in the nanopillar LEDs.

β-Ga₂O₃, characterized with high n-type conductivity, little lattice mismatch with III-Nitrides, high transparency (>80%) in blue, and UVA (400–320 nm) as well as UVB (320–280 nm) regions, has great potential as the substrate for vertical structure blue and especially ultra violet LEDs (light emitting diodes). Large efforts have been made to improve the quality of III-Nitrides epilayers on β-Ga₂O₃. Furthermore, the fabrication of vertical blue LEDs has been preliminarily realized with the best result that output power reaches to 4.82 W (under a current of 10 A) and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) exceeds 78% by different groups, respectively, while there is nearly no demonstration of UV-LEDs on β-Ga₂O₃. In this review, with the perspective from materials to devices, we first describe the basic properties, growth method, as well as doping of β-Ga₂O₃, then introduce in detail the progress in growth of GaN on (1 0 0) and (−2 0 1) β-Ga₂O₃, followed by the epitaxy of AlGaN on gallium oxide. Finally, the advances in fabrication and performance of vertical structure LED (VLED) are presented.

Van der Waals epitaxy (vdWE) has drawn continuous attention, as it is unlimited by lattice-mismatch between epitaxial layers and substrates. Previous reports on the vdWE of III-nitride thin film were mainly based on two-dimensional (2D) materials by plasma pretreatment or pre-doping of other hexagonal materials. However, it is still a huge challenge for single-crystalline thin film on 2D materials without any other extra treatment or interlayer. Here, we grew high-quality single-crystalline AlN thin film on sapphire substrate with an intrinsic WS₂ overlayer (WS₂/sapphire) by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, which had surface roughness and defect density similar to that grown on conventional sapphire substrates. Moreover, an AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light emitting diode structure on WS₂/sapphire was demonstrated. The electroluminescence (EL) performance exhibited strong emissions with a single peak at 283 nm. The wavelength of the single peak only showed a faint peak-position shift with increasing current to 80 mA, which further indicated the high quality and low stress of the AlN thin film. This work provides a promising solution for further deep-ultraviolet (DUV) light emitting electrodes (LEDs) development on 2D materials, as well as other unconventional substrates.

AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV LEDs) have emerged as the most promising UV sources to replace the traditional mercury lamps, due to their advantages such as compact size, low operation voltage, long lifetime, and environmental friendliness. Since the first AlGaN/GaN quantum well p–n diode with band-to-band recombination emission wavelength at 353.6 nm (shorter than the GaN bandgap wavelength) reported in 1998,¹ many research groups have made great efforts to develop AlGaN-based UV LEDs with shorter wavelength and higher output power; several companies have started to commercialize UV LED devices.² 3. 4. ^{– 5} Recently, Takano et al.⁶ claimed to obtain deep-UV (DUV) LEDs with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 20.3% at 275 nm. Inoue et al.⁷ reported a 265-nm single-chip LED with a record continuous-wave output power in excess of 150 mW (corresponding EQE: 3.9%) for an injection current of 850 mA. However, the typical EQE of DUV LEDs is still in the single-digit percentage range and the output power in a couple of milliwatts, depending on the wavelength. These values are much lower than that obtained in highly commercialized GaN visible LEDs.

In this work, efficiency droop of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well LEDs with super wide well (WW) is discussed by comparing the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of GaN grown on sapphire and FS-GaN substrates. The luminescence and electrical characteristics of these WW LEDs are also experimentally and theoretically analyzed. With the increase of well width from 3 nm to 6 nm, high V-pits density and more strain relaxation are found in WW LED on sapphire, which exhibits greatly reduced peak efficiency but almost negligible droop behavior. In contrast, despite a larger polarization field, WW LED on FS-GaN shows obviously enhanced peak efficiency and comparable droop compared to the counterpart with 3-nm well. The Auger recombination probably dominates the mechanism of efficiency droop rather than defect-related nonradiative recombination or polarization effect in the WW LED on both sapphire and FS-GaN, especially at high current density.