We have observed strong blue emission at room temperature from arsenic dope
d GaN samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Similar results were obtaine
d for samples doped with both arsenic dimers and tetramers. The origin of t
his blue emission is discussed and a growth model proposed to account for o
ur observations. We propose that arsenic doped GaN may be a suitable replac
ement for (InGa)N as the active region for blue light emitting devices. (C)
2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.