Effects of tensile and compressive strain on the luminescence properties of AlInGaN/InGaN quantum well structures

We report on the luminescence properties of AlInGaN/In0.08Ga0.92N quantum w ells (QWs) subjected to a variable amount of lattice mismatch induced strai n, including wells with zero strain, compressive strain, and tensile strain . The primary peak emission energy of a 3 nm In0.08Ga0.92N QW was redshifte d by 236 meV as the stress in the well was changed from -0.86% (compressive ) to 0.25% (tensile). It was also found that the photoluminescence intensit y of quantum wells decreased with increasing strain. A lattice matched 9 nm QW exhibited a luminescence intensity that is three times greater than its highly strained counterpart. The potential applications of this strain eng ineering will be discussed. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003- 6951(00)01732-0].