Novel Luminescent Material and Processes for Optical Devices

Abstract : The overall goal of this program has to develop novel light emitting optoelectronics and photonic devices. We have investigated MBB-grown GaN thin films doped with rare earth (RE) species for emission of light over a wide wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared. We have shown that Er-doped GaN is an excellent emitter both in the infrared at 1.5 mum and in the visible (green light at 537 and 558 nm). This makes Er-doped GaN a very promising material candidate for light sources to be utilized in optical communication and interconnections because the IR photoluminescence at room temperature is much stronger than that in other semiconductors. Furthermore, the presence of strong and spectrally pure visible emission indicates that applications such as bright, robust display devices can be developed within the same materials technology base. We have shown the other primary visible colors can be emitted with high intensity at room temperature in RE-doped GaN: red from Pr and Bu, and blue from Tm. We conclude that bright and robust full-color displays using RE-doped GaN are technically feasible and commercially attractive.