Research activities

Our research covers many III-nitrides topics and leading achievements in areas ranging from novel epitaxial growth to device fabrication.

Off

Our research on III-nitride semiconductor devices includes nanophotonics, electronics, hybrid III-nitride/polymer optoelectronics, integration of photonics and electronics, flexible devices, micro-LEDs and solar energy devices.

VLC system

You can see these research interests in greater detail below: 

MOVPE Growth Capacities

Development of advanced overgrowth techniques to allow the growth of high-quality GaN on substrates in non-polar and semi-polar orientations.

  • GaN on sapphire: 4 and 2 inch (Polar; non-polar; semi-polar )
  • GaN on Silicon: (111), (110), (311), (411)
  • GaN on SiC: 6H
  • GaN on Diamond: (111) and others
  • Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities
movpe_growth_1
MOVPE epitaxial growth
MOVPE epitaxial growth of III-nitrides (AlGaN, GaN, InGaN) from deep UV to the whole visible spectral region
Monolithic integration of LED-HEMT
  • Demonstration of Epitaxial Integration of LEDs-HEMTs on up-scalable substrates
  • Epitaxial integration of 碌LED & RF on semi-/non-polar GaN on up-scalable Substrates
  • Individually addressable 碌LEDs/RF with multiple colours
  • Ultra-fast visible light wireless communication
HEMT-wafer-1

Controllable Uniform Green Light Emitters Enabled by Circular HEMT-LED Devices
Yuefei Cai, Yipin Gong, Jie Bai, Xiang Yu, Chenqi Zhu, Volkan Esendag, Kean Boon Lee, Tao Wang
IEEE Photonics Journal (2018),

III-nitride Micro-LEDs for micro-display and Li-Fi
  • Epitaxial growth of 碌LEDs/HEMTs on sapphire
  • IQE increases with decreasing dimension, which is opposite to all the 碌LEDs reported so far.
  • Major advantage: eliminating any etching induced damages
  • Three patents on 渭-LEDs have been filed
Gancentre - epipix

A Direct Epitaxial Approach To Achieving Ultrasmall and Ultrabright InGaN Micro Light-Emitting Diodes (渭LEDs)
J. Bai, Y. Cai P. Feng, P. Fletcher, X. Zhao, C. Zhu & T.Wang

micro_LED_emmission
Long wavelength semi-polar III-nitride emitters
  • Greatly enhanced crystalline quality of our 5碌m GaN (XRD FWHM <360鈥)
  • Latest data: XRD linewidth of ~ 0.07 degree at 90 azimuth angle

Topical Review: Development of overgrown semi-polar GaN for high efficiency green/yellow emission
T Wang

This review presents recent progress on developing semi-polar GaN overgrowth technologies on sapphire or Si substrates, the two kinds of major substrates which are cost-effective and thus industry-compatible, and also demonstrates the latest achievements on electrically injected InGaN emitters with long emission wavelengths up to and including amber on overgrown semi-polar GaN.

Gancentre - graph 1
Gancentre - wafer

Semi-polar LEDs (Green to Amber)

  • Semipolar InGaN LEDs bridge the 鈥済reen/yellow鈥 gap for ultrafast visible light communications and Opto-genetic applications
  • Highlighted by a number of media, 鈥淪emiconductor Today鈥, 鈥滾ED Inside鈥, 鈥滶ND Asia鈥
Semi-polar LEDs


J. Bai, B. Xu, F. G. Guzman, K. Xing, Y. Gong, Y. Hou and T. Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 107, 261103 (2015)

Semi-polar GaN on silicon

Our approach to patterning (311) Si

Buffered HF to remove the SiO2 layer

semi polar GaN

With respect to the surface:

Facets Angle
A (111) 29.5掳
B (1-11) & D(-1-11) 58.5掳
C (-111) 80.1掳
  • The angle between (11-22) GaN and c-plane GaN is 58.4o
  • GaN (c-plane GaN) is grown on B or D facet, leading to the formation of (11-22) GaN along the vertical direction.
  • Ideally, GaN is grown only on either B facet or D facet, but not on both

Cross-sectional SEM image

semi polar GaN 2
Novel mask-patterned (113) silicon: high quality (11-22) semi-polar GaN on silicon. A further generic approach to achieve different semi-/non- polar GaN


J Bai, X Yu, Y Gong, Y N Hou, Y Zhang and T Wang
Semiconductor Science and Technology, Volume 30, Number 6, 2015

Electronic devices

Semi-insulating GaN for electronics

Semi-insulating GaN for power electronics & RF devices for 5G application

Gancentre research - electronic devices graphs
Nano-array blue LEDs
Nanorod arrays
Nanorod array: ~200 nm in diameter and ~1脳10 9 /cm2 in density. Good uniformity in 2 inch wafer.
Nano-array blue LED
Nano-array blue LED with ultra high efficiency for next generation solid state lighting

Publications


J. Bai, Q. Wang and T. Wang
J. Appl. Phys. 111, 113103 (2012);


Q Wang, J Bai, Y P Gong and T Wang
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Volume 44, Number 39 (2011)


P. Renwick, H. Tang, J. Bai and T. Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 182105 (2012);


Jochen Bruckbauer, Paul R Edwards, Jie Bai, Tao Wang and Robert W Martin
Nanotechnology, Volume 24, Number 36 (2013)

Hybrid III-nitride/organic device for white LED

The combination of III-nitride based inorganic materials with organic semiconductors allows the development of increased efficiency white light emitting structures. This combines the strengths of both materials classes.

Through the combination with novel nanostructures, it has been possible to utilise high efficiency non-radiative energy transfer coupling between the III-nitride materials and organics.

A very efficient non-radiative energy transfer with a rate of up 73%


R. Smith, B. Liu, J. Bai, and T. Wang
Nano Lett., 2013, 13 (7), pp 3042鈥3047
DOI: 10.1021/nl400597d

Electrically injected hybrid III-Nitride/organic white LED
Electrically injected hybrid III-Nitride/organic white LED
Hydrogen generation using GaN nanostructures

Solar-powered hydrogen generation

III-nitride photoelectrodes with Nanostructure: high solar-to-Hydrogen efficiency,

This video shows hydrogen gas formation at the counter electrode with oxygen formation at the InGaN semiconductor device under solar illumination:

The chemical stability of nitride materials and the widely tuneable bandgap allow efficient conversion of solar energy to hydrogen as a fuel source.

IPCE graph
IPCE as a function of wavelength for all the GaN based nanoporous structures and the as-grown structure as reference. 漏 2014 AIP Publishing LLC


J. Benton, J. Bai and T. Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 223902 (2014)


J Benton, J Bai and T Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 103, 133904 (2013)


J Benton, J Bai and T Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 120, 173905 (2013)

UV-LEDs
  • Non-Line-of-sight (NLOS) communications
  • water purification
  • Environmental Protection

Novel approach for 340 nm UV LEDs


T. Wang, K. B. Lee, J. Bai, P. J. Parbrook, R. J. Airey, Q. Wang, G. Hill, F. Ranalli and A. G. Cullis
Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 081126 (2006);

UV 2
UV-LED graphs

310-340 nm UV LEDs


T Wang, K B Lee, J Bai, P J Parbrook, F Ranalli, Q Wang, R J Airey, A G Cullis, H X Zhang, D Massoubre
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Volume 41, Number 9 (2008)

310-340 nm UV LED graphs

Deep UV emission


J. Bai, T. Wang, P. J. Parbrook and A. G. Cullis
Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 131925 (2006);

Deep UV emission
GaN nanostructures based solar cells

Incorporation of nanoscale structures into III-nitride based optoelectronic devices by application of novel, cost-effective device fabrication processes. Allows control over light and carrier dynamics in iii-nitride optoelectronic devices, such as microdisk lasers.

III-nitrides solar Cells


J. Bai, C. C. Yang, M. Athanasiou and T. Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 051129 (2014)

Solar cells 1
Solar cells 2
III-nitride micro-/nano- lasers

Room temperature CW plasmonic nano laser with ultra-low threshold

Through the combination of nanoscale metals and III-nitride materials, light-matter interaction can be manipulated. This allows optical fields to be concentrated into sub-diffraction limited volumes.

A plasmonic laser has recently been demonstrated using a single InGaN/GaN nanorod coupled to silver films.


Y. Hou, P. Renwick, B. Liu, J. Bai & T. Wang
Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 5014 (2014) doi:10.1038/srep05014

CW plasmonic nano laser

Room temperature optically pumped CW green laser on Si with record-low threshold


M. Athanasiou, R. Smith, B. Liu & T. Wang
Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 7250 (2014), doi:10.1038/srep07250

CW green laser
III-nitrides lasers

Blue laser diode - among the few earliest university groups to achieve this world-wide

Demonstration of electrically injected InGaN/GaN based violet/blue laser in collaboration with an overseas team for device fabrication in 2004, achieved then among only a few university groups.

Highlighted in 

GaNcentre - first blue 1
GaNcentre - first blue 2

Publications

GaNcentre - first blue 3


Q. Wang, T. Wang, J. Bai, A. G. Cullis, P. J. Parbrook and F. Ranalli
J. Appl. Phys. 103, 123522 (2008);
Ultra high density of QDs with high crystal quality: room temperature stimulated emission

GaNcentre - first blue 4


Q. Wang, Y. P. Gong, J. F. Zhang, J. Bai, F. Ranalli1 and T. Wang
Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 161904 (2009);
High temperature AlN buffer technique: RT stimulated emission at 340 nm with a low threshold
Highlighted in 鈥淪emiconductor Today鈥 on 28th October 2009

Shortest wavelength VCSEL

High quality III-nitride DBR: Shortest wavelength VCSEL at room temperature so far. (Highlighted by 鈥淎pplied Physics Letters鈥 cover image, shown below)

GaNcentre - first blue 5


Rui Chen, H. D. Sun, T. Wang, K. N. Hui and H. W. Choi
Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 241101 (2010);

GaN-based ISB Devices

Unique advantages of GaN-based ISB:

  • Large conduction band offset =>1.75eV for GaN/AlN, pushing this family of devices to much shorter wavelengths
  • 1.3-1.55渭m wavelength range used for fiber-optics telecommunications requiring a band offset of ~1 eV
  • Ultra short ISB relaxation time (140-400 fs at RT) 10 times faster than in InGaAs QWs, offering the prospect of ultrafast ISB devices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 648(2000); Semicond. Sci. Technol. 19, S463(2004)
  • Large longitudinal phonon energy (92meV for GaN compared to 36meV for GaAs) => enable sources emitting in the Reststrahlen band of GaAs and InP and high-performance lasers at THz frequencies
GaNcentre - GaN-based ISB Devices
GaN Centre logo

Follow us on: