GaN samples were implanted with Be and annealed in different conditions in order to activate the shallow BeGaacceptor. Low-temperature photoluminescence spectra were studied to find BeGa-related defects in the implanted samples. A yellow band with a maximum at about 2.2 eV (the YLBeband) was observed in nearly all samples protected with an AlN cap during the annealing and in samples annealed under ultrahigh N2pressure. A green band with a maximum at 2.35 eV (the GL2 band), attributed to the nitrogen vacancy, was the dominant defect-related luminescence band in GaN samples annealed without a protective AlN layer. The ultraviolet luminescence (UVLBe) band with a maximum at 3.38 eV attributed to the shallow BeGaacceptor with the ionization energy of 0.113 eV appeared in implanted samples only after annealing at high temperatures and ultrahigh N2pressure. This is the first observation of the UVLBeband in Be-implanted GaN, indicating successful activation of the BeGaacceptor.
The yellow luminescence (YL) band with a maximum at 2.2 eV is the dominant defect‐related luminescence in unintentionally doped GaN. The discovery of the mechanism responsible for this luminescence band and related defects in GaN took many years. Eventually, a consensus has been reached that the CNacceptor is the source of the YL band (the YL1 band) in GaN samples grown by several techniques. Previously suggested candidates, such as VGa, VGaON, CNON, and CNSiGa, should be discarded. At the same time, other defects (such as the VN, BeGa, and CaGa) may cause luminescence bands with positions and shapes not much different from the YL1 band. In GaN containing high concentrations of gallium vacancies, oxygen, and hydrogen, complexes containing these species may also contribute in the red–yellow part of the photoluminescence spectrum. The main controversies related to the YL band are resolved.
- Award ID(s):
- 1904861
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10418801
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- physica status solidi (b)
- Volume:
- 260
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0370-1972
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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A systematic photoluminescence study of Be‐doped GaN grown by metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition is presented. All Be‐doped samples show the ultraviolet luminescence (UVLBe) band with a maximum at 3.38 eV and the yellow luminescence (YLBe) band with a maximum at ≈2.15 eV in GaN:Be having various concentrations of Be. The UVLBeband is attributed to the shallow state of the BeGaacceptor with a delocalized hole. The YLBeband is caused by a Be‐related defect, possibly the polaronic state of the BeGaacceptor with the charge transition level at 0.3 eV above the valence band. This broad band exhibits unusual properties. In particular, it always shows two steps in its thermal quenching. The second step at
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