Characteristics of emission polarization in a-plane nanorods embedded with InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

Abstract

Nonpolar (a-plane) GaN nanorod arrays with embedded In(x)Ga(1-x)N/GaN (x=0.09, 0.14, 0.24, and 0.30) multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on r-plane sapphire have been fabricated successfully by self-assembled Ni nanomasks and subsequent inductively coupled plasma reactive-ion etching. After nanorod fabrications, the polarization ratio of the emission from MQWs with lower indium composition (x=0.09 and 0.14) slightly decreases but apparently increases by at most 79% for the samples with higher indium composition (x=0.24 and 0.30). Competition between the effect of multiple scattering, strain relaxation and reduction in localized centers, expected in a-plane MQW samples, are attributed to the variations in the polarization ratios after the nanorod formation. (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3483239]