Visible and infrared rare-earth-activated electroluminescence from indium tin oxide Schottky diodes to GaN:Er on Si

Visible and infrared rare-earth-activated electroluminescence (EL) has been obtained from Schottky barrier diodes consisting of indium tin oxide (ITO) contacts on an Er-doped GaN layer grown on Si. The GaN was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates using solid sources for Ga, Mg, and Er and a plasma source for N-2. RF-sputtered ITO was used for both diode electrodes. The EL spectrum shows two peaks at 537 and 558 nm along with several peaks clustered around 1550 nm. These emission lines correspond to atomic Er transitions to the I-4(15/2) ground level and have narrow linewidths. The optical power varies linearly with reverse bias current. The external quantum and power efficiencies of GaN:Er visible light-emitting diodes have been measured, with values of 0.026% and 0.001%, respectively. Significantly higher performance is expected from improvements in the growth process, device design, and packaging. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)01002-5].