Phosphor-free white-light emitters using in-situ GaN nanostructures grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Realization of phosphor-free white-light emitters is becoming an important milestone on the road to achieve high quality and reliability in high-power white-light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, most of reported methods have not been applied to practical use because of their difficulties and complexity. In this study we demonstrated a novel and practical growth method for phosphor-free white-light emitters without any external processing, using only in-situ high-density GaN nanostructures that were formed by overgrowth on a silicon nitride (SiNx) interlayer deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The nano-sized facets produced variations in the InGaN thickness and the indium concentration when an InGaN/GaN double heterostructure was monolithically grown on them, leading to white-color light emission. It is important to note that the in-situ SiNx interlayer not only facilitated the GaN nano-facet structure, but also blocked the propagation of dislocations.