Visible emission from ZnCdO/ZnO multiple quantum wells

• Published in: Physica status solidi. PSS-RRL. Rapid research letters 2012-01, Vol.6 (1), p.31-33
• Main Authors: Lange, Martin, Dietrich, Christof P., Brachwitz, Kerstin, Stölzel, Marko, Lorenz, Michael, Grundmann, Marius
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Exact sciences and technology; luminescence; multiple quantum well structures; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials and structures; Physics; Quantum wells; ZnCdO; ZnO
• ISSN: 1862-6254; 1862-6270
• DOI: 10.1002/pssr.201105489

Polar c‐axis oriented Zn0.75Cd0.25O/ZnO multiple quantum wells (MQWs), grown by pulsed‐laser deposition (PLD), emitting in the visible spectral range are reported. By applying a low growth temperature of ≈300 °C a large Cd content of 0.25 and abrupt interfaces could be achieved using PLD. The emission energy was tuned from the green to the violet spectral range (2.5 eV to 3.1 eV) by tuning the quantum well thickness. It is determined by the quantum confinement effect and the quantum‐confined Stark effect. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) In this Letter ZnCdO quantum wells emitting in the visible spectral range are reported. The quantum well thickness was varied in order to tune the emission energy from the green to the violet spectral range. To obtain such low emission energies a large Cd content of 0.25 was achieved. With these results the authors are able to show that ZnCdO is a competitive alternative to InGaN for device applications.