Graphene-assisted quasi-van der Waals epitaxy of AlN film for ultraviolet light emitting diodes on nano-patterned sapphire substrate

We report the growth of high-quality AlN films on nano-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSSs) by graphene-assisted quasi-van der Waals epitaxy, which enables rapid coalescence to shorten the growth time. Due to the presence of graphene (Gr), AlN tends to be two-dimensional laterally expanded on the NPSS, leading to the reduction of dislocation density and strain release in the AlN epitaxial layer. Using first-principles calculations, we confirm that Gr can reduce the surface migration barrier and promote the lateral migration of metal Al atoms. Furthermore, the electroluminescence results of deep ultraviolet light emitting diodes (DUV-LEDs) have exhibited greatly enhanced emission located at 280 nm by inserting the Gr interlayer. The present work may provide the potential to solve the bottleneck of high efficiency DUV-LED.