Nano-cathodoluminescence reveals the effect of indium segregation on the optical properties of nitride semiconductor nanorods

Gatan instrument used 

Gatan’s cathodoluminescence (CL) products enable optically-coupled transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to reveal and correlate nanoscale structural, optical, and electronic properties of materials.

Background

Most commercially available light emitting diode (LED) chips are manufactured from nitride semiconductors grown as thin films on foreign substrates. While successful for high power devices emitting blue light, significant material challenges exist prevent the development of high-efficiency nitride semiconductor devices emitting at green and red wavelengths; consequently, compromising their usefulness for solid state lighting applications. A promising approach to address these issues is to develop devices based on nanorods where an increase in the effective light emitting area could lead to improved radiative efficiencies. However, many challenges in design and manufacture still exist, and the development of nanorod-based devices requires understanding and control of the structural and optical properties at the nanoscale.