Stokes shift in semi-polar (11(2)over-bar2) InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

The mechanism for the large Stokes Shifts of InGaN/GaN structures is under debate. Here, we report a systematic study on the Stokes shift of semi-polar (11 (2) over bar2) InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with a wide spectral range from green (490 nm) to yellow (590nm) by means of both photoluminescence excitation and time resolved PL measurements in comparison with their c-plane counterparts. The semi-polar samples exhibit a lower Stokes shift than their c-plane counterparts, although they show stronger localization effect than their c-plane counterparts. In the long wavelength region, the Stokes shift of the semi-polar MQWs shows a linear relationship with emission energy, but with a smaller gradient compared with their c-plane counterparts. The time-resolved PL measurements confirm a significant reduction in piezoelectric field of the semi-polar samples compared with the c-plane counterparts. It is suggested that the piezoelectric field induced polarization is the major mechanism for causing the large Stokes shift. The presented results contribute to better understanding of the long standing issue on the mechanism for the large Stokes shift. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.