Auger recombination as the dominant recombination process in indium nitride at low temperatures during steady-state photoluminescence

Auger recombination in InN films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition was studied by steady-state photoluminescence at different laser excitation powers and sample temperatures. It was dominant over radiative recombination and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination at low temperatures, contributing to the sub-linear relationship between the integrated photoluminescence intensity and laser excitation power. Auger recombination rates increased gradually with temperature with an activation energy of 10-17 meV, in good agreement with values from transient photoluminescence reported in literature. As the Auger recombination rates were independent of material quality, they may form an upper limit to the luminous efficiency of InN. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4795793]