Thermal annealing effects on an InGaN film with an average indium mole fraction of 0.31

We compared the optical and material properties of an InGaN thin film with an average indium content at 0.31 between as-grown and postgrowth thermally annealed conditions. The major part of the photoluminescence spectrum was shifted from the original yellow band into the blue range upon thermal annealing. Cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra showed that the spectral shift occurred essentially in a shallow layer of the InGaN film. The deeper layer in the as-grown sample contributed blue emission because it had been thermally annealed during the growth of the shallow layer. The spectral change was attributed to the general trends of cluster size reduction and possibly quantum-confined Stark effect relaxation upon thermal annealing. The attribution was supported by the observations in the CL, x-ray diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy results. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.