MECHANISMS FOR THE BLUE EMISSION OF ZINC SELENIDE-BASED LEDS

Light-emitting diodes have been fabricated from zinc selenide single c rystals in a two-step procedure. The conductivity of the n-ZnSe was co mpensated by doping the crystals with tin. A layer of the semiconducto r with a p-type conductivity was produced by doping the compensated la yer with lithium. A mechanism is proposed for the blue emission observ ed from the structures. A study of the luminescence spectra leads to t he conclusion that the radiative recombination involves free excitons interacting with longitudinal optical phonons and free electrons. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.