Visible emission from Er-doped GaN grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

Visible light emission has been obtained from Er-doped GaN thin films. The GaN was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on sapphire substrates using solid sources (for Ga, Al, and Er) and a plasma gas source for N2. Above GaN band-gap photoexcitation resulted in strong green emission. The emission spectrum consists of two narrow green lines at 537 and 558 nm and a broad peak at light blue wavelengths (480–510 nm). The narrow lines have been identified as Er transitions from the H11/22 and S3/24 levels to the I15/24 ground state. The intensity of the 558 nm emission decreases with increasing temperature, while the intensity of the 537 nm line actually peaks at ∼300 K. This effect is explained based on the thermalization of electrons between the two closely spaced energy levels.