The device physics of AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron mobility transistor (MOS-HEMT) with localized stress introduced by a diamond-like carbon (DLC) liner or encapsulation layer was investigated. DLC film with high intrinsic compressive stress $\left(\sim 6\text{GPa}\right)$ formed over AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMTs contributed local compressive stress in the channel region. This was found to reduce the two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) density in the channel, leading to a positive threshold voltage shift. Transconductance and drain current at a given gate overdrive were also improved. On the other hand, the DLC introduced local tensile stress in the region between the gate and source/drain contacts, leading to a localized increase in 2-DEG density, giving reduced series resistance. The results of this work are expected to be useful for strain engineering of AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMTs.

The electroluminescence (EL) properties of InGaN/AlGaN ultraviolet light-emitting multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with identical average In content but different In gradients (In content increases linearly, along the growth direction) are investigated numerically. It is found that the luminescence efficiency is improved, and the EL spectral peak wavelength becomes longer for the MQW sample with a larger In gradient. Since the influence of In gradient is different for the conduction and valence bands in InGaN layers, the distribution of electrons and holes in QWs may be changed, leading to a redshift of EL spectra. In particular, when the In gradient increases, the overlap integral of electron-hole wavefunction in InGaN QWs increases, resulting in a higher radiative recombination rate and an enhanced EL intensity.

The optical properties of InGaN/GaN violet light-emitting multiple quantum wells with different thicknesses of GaN quantum barriers are investigated experimentally. When the barrier thickness decreases from 20 to 10 nm, the photoluminescence intensity at room temperature increases, which can be attributed to the reduced polarization field in the thin-barrier sample. However, with a further reduction in the thickness to 5 nm, the sample’s luminescence intensity decreases significantly. It is found that the strong nonradiative loss process induced by the deteriorated crystal quality and the quantum-tunneling-assisted leakage of carriers may jointly contribute to the enhanced nonradiative loss of photogenerated electrons and holes, leading to a significant reduction in photoluminescence intensity of the sample with nanoscale ultrathin GaN quantum barriers.