Volkmar Dierolf

For the development of III-nitride-semiconductor-based monolithic micro-light-emitting diode (LED) displays, Eu,O-codoped GaN (GaN:Eu,O) is a promising material candidate for the red LEDs. The luminescence efficiency of Eu-related emission strongly depends on the local atomic structure of Eu ions. Our previous research has revealed that post-growth thermal annealing is an effective method for reconfiguring luminescent sites, leading to a significant increase in light output. We observed the preferential formation of a site with a peak at ∼2.004 eV by the annealing process. In this study, we demonstrate that it is a previously unidentified independent site (OMVPE-X) using combined excitation–emission spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. In addition, we perform excitation power-dependent photoluminescence measurements and show that this OMVPE-X site dominates the emission at a low excitation power region despite its small relative abundance, suggesting a high excitation efficiency. Most importantly, applying our annealing technique to an LED exhibits a reasonably increased electroluminescence intensity associated with OMVPE-X, confirming that this site has a high excitation efficiency also under current injection. These results demonstrate the importance of OMVPE-X as a notable luminescent site for brighter and more efficient GaN:Eu,O-based LEDs.

Atomic arrangements systemically deviating from the classic definition of single crystal lattice have been known in spherulites for over a century. However, their unusual curved lattice could not be exploited for useful applications due to their uncontrolled orientations and lattice curvatures. Heating of glass with focused laser, electron, or X‐ray beam has yielded well‐defined conditions for forming single crystal architectures. Furthermore, by controlling the conditions of irradiation and confinement by glass matrix for a given system, desired lattice curvature (rotations and twists) can be reproducibly introduced into these crystals. Here, we review several examples of laser‐fabricated crystals with curved lattices in glass using a common coordinate system, which helps to establish correlations between processing parameters and lattice curvature. The mechanisms of lattice deformations are discussed along with potential methods to control the orientation of the initially formed seeds that determine the lattice orientations of the end product. The recent developments of laser‐fabrication of single crystal architectures in glass with controlled heating profile appear promising for engineering the curvature of their lattices.