Strain-induced deep ultraviolet emitting AlGaN quantum wells

Abstract

Transverse magnetic-polarized emission dominates in Al-rich AlGaN quantum well-based high-efficient non-toxic deep ultraviolet light sources. In this study, we theoretically analyzed the effect of external strain on the spontaneous emission and optical gain properties of Al-rich AlGaN quantum wells using the self-consistent approach to solve the Schrödinger equation based on an eight-band k⋅p Hamiltonian or Poisson equation. External strain can modify valence band alignment and significantly enhance transverse electric-polarized spontaneous emission and optical gain. The peak transverse electric-polarized spontaneous emission rate increases by 838.3% under a stress of 8 GPa. These results provide critical insights and design strategies for the advanced AlGaN-based ultraviolet optoelectronic devices.