Characterization of InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well blue-light-emitting diodes grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

The structural, surface morphology, and the temperature dependence photoluminescence of InGaN(3 nm)/GaN(7 nm) 5 period multi-quantum-well blue-light-emitting diode (LED) structures grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) have been studied. Quantum dot-like structures and strain contrast evident by black lumps were observed in the quantum wells using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis. Double-crystal high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) spectra of blue LED were simulated using kinematical theory method, to obtain composition, and period thickness of well and barrier. The S shape character shift as red-blue-redshift of the quantum-well emission line, i.e., blue emission peak 2.667 eV at 10 K, was observed with variation of temperature in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The shift is assigned to the potential fluctuations due to alloy inhomogeneous distribution in the quantum wells. The In composition in the quantum wells obtained by two independent techniques, namely HRXRD and PL, was 8% and 19%, respectively. The reason for this large difference in composition is explained in this letter. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.