We have demonstrated a new class of phosphor-free white LEDs with the use of tunnel junction structure in nonpolar core-shell InGaN nanowires. It is confirmed that the tunnel junction based nanowire LEDs can eliminate the use of the resistive p-GaN:Mg contact layer, leading to significantly enhanced hole injection and dramatically reduced voltage loss. The nonpolar core-shell nanowire heterostructure showed the enhanced carrier injection efficiency through the widened shell n-GaN contact area. The TEM analysis verified that the core-shell Al tunnel junction layers were uniformly grown on nonpolar surfaces of the GaN wurtzite crystal nanowire structure. We have also showed the monolithic integration of multiple-color emission on a single chip by using the multiple-stacked tunnel junction core-shell nanowire heterostructure. Compared to the conventional film based quantum well LEDs, the demonstrated nonpolar core-shell tunnel junction nanowire LEDs will be a very promising candidate for future solid-state lighting applications as well as phosphor-free white LEDs.
Keywords: core−shell; light emitting diode; nanowire; selective area epitaxy; tunnel junction.