A novel model on time-resolved photoluminescence measurements of polar InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well structures

Based on carrier rate equation, a new model is proposed to explain the non-exponential nature of time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) decay curves in the polar InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well structures. From the study of TRPL curves at different temperatures, it is found that both radiative and non-radiative recombination coefficients vary from low temperature to room temperature. The variation of the coefficients is compatible with the carrier density of states distribution as well as the carrier localization process. These results suggest that there is a novel method to calculate the internal quantum efficiency, which is a complement to the traditional one based on temperature dependent photoluminescence measurement.