Characterization of zinc blende InxGa1−xN grown by radio frequency plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001)

Successful growth of a cubic ${\mathrm{In}}_{\mathrm{0.17}}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{\mathrm{0.83}}\mathrm{N/GaN}$ structure exhibiting blue luminescence at temperatures up to 500 K is reported. Atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction are used to analyze the morphological and crystalline properties of the sample. Photoluminescence measurements reveal broad, but well defined emission with a maximum at 440–450 nm in the temperature range of 5–500 K. A line-shape analysis of the spectra, as well as measurements of the absorption coefficient, allow an estimation of the band-gap energy of the cubic ${\mathrm{In}}_{\mathrm{0.17}}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{\mathrm{0.83}}\mathrm{N}$ epilayer.