Mixed Polarity in Polarization-Induced p-n Junction Nanowire Light-Emitting Diodes

Polarization-induced nanowire light emitting diodes (PINLEDs) are fabricated by grading the Al composition along the c-direction of AlGaN nanowires grown on Si substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). Polarization-induced charge develops with a sign that depends on the direction of the Al composition gradient with respect to the [0001] direction. By grading from GaN to AlN then back to GaN, a polarization-induced pn junction is formed. The orientation of the p-type and n-type sections depends on the material polarity of the nanowire (i.e., Ga-face or N-face). Ga-face material results in an n-type base and a p-type top, while N-face results in the opposite. The present work examines the polarity of catalyst-free nanowires using multiple methods: scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), selective etching, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), and electroluminescence (EL) spectroscopy. Selective etching and STEM measurements taken in annular bright field (ABF) mode demonstrate that the preferred orientation for catalyst-free nanowires grown by PAMBE is N-face, with roughly 10% showing Ga-face orientation. C-AFM and EL spectroscopy allow electrical and optical differentiation of the material polarity in PINLEDs since the forward bias direction depends on the pn junction orientation and therefore on nanowire polarity. Specifically, C-AFM reveals that the direction of forward bias for individual nanowire LEDs changes with the polarity, as expected, due to reversal of the sign of the polarization-induced charge. Electroluminescence measurements of mixed polarity PINLEDs wired in parallel show ambipolar emission due to the mixture of pn and np oriented PINLEDs. These results show that, if catalyst-free III-nitride nanowires are to be used to form polarization-doped heterostructures, then it is imperative to understand their mixed polarity and to design devices using these nanowires accordingly.