Properties of Zn-doped GaN. I. Photoluminescence

Abstract
Zinc in GaN forms an efficient radiative center emitting blue light at 2.86±0.02 eV and acts as a deep acceptor which can make the crystal insulating. A systematic variation of growth conditions shows that an optimization of the photoluminescence efficiency is possible. Under nonoptimal conditions, lower photon energy emission is obtained. A temperature‐dependent competing nonradiative process has an activation energy of 0.33±0.15 eV. The emission peak exhibits a negligible spectral shift with temperature. The response time of the blue photoluminescence is several orders of magnitude slower than the near‐gap transition. It is suggested that the photoluminescence is due to a radiative transition from the conduction band tail to the Zn acceptor levels.

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