MODIFYING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF A NITRIDE OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE

A method of modifying the optical properties of a processed nitride semiconductor light-emitting device initially comprises disposing the processed nitride semiconductor light-emitting device in a vacuum chamber. One or more nitride semiconductor layers are then grown by molecular beam epitaxy thereby to modify the optical properties of the processed light-emitting device. Activated nitrogen, for example from a plasma source, is supplied to the vacuum chamber during growth of the nitride semiconductor layer(s). The use of activated nitrogen reduces the growth temperature required for the growth of the nitride semiconductor layer(s), as the need for thermal activation of a nitrogen species is eliminated. Moreover, use of a growth method such as, for example, plasma-assisted MBE to grow the nitride semiconductor layer(s) allows much more precise control of their thickness and composition.