High-performance nanowire ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with potassium hydroxide and ammonium sulfide surface passivation

Potassium hydroxide (KOH) and ammonium sulfide (NH4)(2)S-x have been used as a surface passivation treatment to improve the electrical and optical performance of AlGaN nanowire ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Enhancements in photoluminescence at 335 nm (49%), optical output power (65%), and electroluminescence (83%), with respect to the as-grown nanowire LED are recorded for the AlGaN nanowire UV LEDs with surface passivation. These enhancements are attributed to the reduced nonradiative recombination on the nanowire surfaces. This study provides a potential surface passivation approach to produce high-power AlGaN nanowire LEDs operating in the UV spectrum. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America.