Electroluminescence of a cubic GaN/GaAs (001) p–n junction

A cubic GaN $\mathrm{p–n}$ diode has been grown on n-type GaAs (001) substrates by plasma assisted molecular epitaxy. For p- and n-type doping, elemental Mg and Si beams have been used, respectively. The optical properties are characterized by photoluminescence at room temperature and 2 K. Current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements of the cubic GaN $n^{+}\mathrm{–p}$ junction are performed at room temperature. The electroluminescence at 300 K is measured through a semitransparent Au contact. A peak emission at 3.2 eV with a full width at half maximum as narrow as 150 meV is observed, indicating that near-band edge transitions are the dominating recombination processes in our device. A linear increase of the electroluminescence intensity with increasing current density is measured.