Luminescence Characteristics of N-Polar GaN and InGaN Films Grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Nitrogen- and Ga-polar GaN and InGaN/GaN multiple quantum-well (MQW) films were prepared via metal organic chemical vapor deposition and evaluated via photoluminescence at reduced temperatures in order to compare their optical characteristics. While N- and Ga-polar GaN films grown at standard high temperatures were comparable in terms of photoluminescence at tested temperatures, the N-polar InGaN MQW quality was inferior to their Ga-polar counterparts, confirmed with greater enhancement in luminescence intensity from 300 to 10 K and unobservable phonon replicas at 10 K for the N-polar InGaN MQW due to the broad emission peak. Additionally performed electroluminescence studies on N-polar light-emitting diode samples indicated that the poor luminescence of the N-polar samples was not related to electric field effects. Influence of residual impurities (C and 0) was strongly suggested via secondary ion mass spectroscopy, leading us to conclude that the poor luminescence properties of the N-polar InGaN MQWs were predominantly caused by the elevated residual impurity concentrations in the N-polar (In,Ga)N layers grown at low temperatures. (C) 2009 The Japan Society of Applied Physics DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.48.071003