Optical linewidths of InGaN light emitting diodes and epilayers

A comparative study of the optical linewidths of photo- and electroluminescence from high-quality InGaN epilayers and commercial single quantum well light emitting diode structures was undertaken. Optical linewidths in both cases are temperature insensitive and increase systematically with increasing indium concentration. We assess the contribution of three mechanisms to the luminescence linewidth: alloy fluctuations, well width fluctuations, and strain effects. It is found that the broadening of the emission line is an intrinsic property of InGaN alloys. The piezoelectric effect in wurtzite semiconductor is proposed as a novel line-broadening mechanism. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.