Erbium-doped GaN epilayers synthesized by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

The authors report on the synthesis of Er-doped GaN epilayers by in situ doping by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The optical and electrical properties of the Er-doped GaN epilayers were studied by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and van der Pauw-Hall method. Both above and below band gap excitation results in a sharp PL emission peak at 1.54 mu m. In contrary to other growth methods, MOCVD grown Er-doped GaN epilayers exhibit virtually no visible emission lines. A small thermal quenching effect, with only a 20% decrease in the integrated intensity of the 1.54 mu m PL emission, occurred between 10 and 300 K. It was found that Er incorporation has very little effect on the electrical conductivity of the GaN epilayers and Er-doped layers retain similar electrical properties as those of undoped GaN. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.