Comparison of optical properties of polarization-matched c-plane and lattice-matched a-plane BInGaN/GaN quantum well structures

Light emission characteristics of polarization-matched polar (c-plane) and lattice-matched nonpolar (a-plane) BInGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) structures were investigated as a function of B content and well width. The peak intensity of the lattice-matched a-plane BInGaN/GaN QW structure is shown to be similar to that of the polarization-matched c-plane BInGaN/GaN QW structure, which is about two and half times larger than that of the conventional InGaN/GaN QW structure. The peak intensity is a weak function of the In content. Also, the QW structure with thick well width shows the peak intensity comparable to that for the QW structure with thin well width. Hence, we expect that the lattice-matched a-plane BInGaN/GaN QW structure could be used as a thick BInGaN active layer for a high efficiency and a reduced droop. In addition, nonpolar QW structures show high polarization ratio, which ranges from 0.976 to 0.992 in investigated In content and well width.