Enhanced internal quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency from textured GaNAlGaN quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

GaN Al0.2 Ga0.8 N multiple quantum wells (MQWs) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on randomly textured and atomically smooth (0001) GaN templates. Smooth and textured GaN templates were deposited on (0001) sapphire substrates by varying the IIIV ratio and the substrate temperature during growth by the hydride vapor-phase epitaxy method. We find that the MQWs replicate the texture of the GaN template, which was found to have a Gaussian distribution. The peak photoluminescence intensity from the textured MQWs is always higher than from the smooth MQWs and for GaN (7 nm) Al0.2 Ga0.8 N (8 nm) MQWs, it is 700 times higher than that from similarly produced MQWs on smooth GaN templates. This result is attributed partly to the enhancement in light extraction efficiency and partly to the enhancement in internal quantum efficiency. The origin of the increase in internal quantum efficiency is partly due to the reduction of the quantum-confined Stark effect, since the polarization vector intersects the quantum well (QW) planes at angles smaller than 90°, and partly due to the charge redistribution in the QWs caused by the polarization component parallel to the planes of the QWs.