Non-polar (11-20) InGaN quantum dots with short exciton lifetimes grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy

We report on the optical characterization of non-polar a-plane InGaN quantum dots (QDs) grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy using a short nitrogen anneal treatment at the growth temperature. Spatial and spectral mapping of sub-surface QDs has been achieved by cathodoluminescence at 8 K. Microphotoluminescence studies of the QDs reveal resolution limited sharp peaks with typical linewidth of 1 meV at 4.2 K. Time-resolved photoluminescence studies suggest the excitons in these QDs have a typical lifetime of 538 ps, much shorter than that of the c-plane QDs, which is strong evidence of the significant suppression of the internal electric fields. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.