ZnO-nanowire-inserted GaN/ZnO heterojunction light-emitting diodes

The fabrication process of ZnO-nanowire-inserted GaN/ZnO heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by formation of p⁺aN film/n-ZnO nanowire array/n⁺ZnO film structures, has been described. ZnO-nanowires-inserted GaN/ZnO heterojunctions for LED applications were fabricated by growing Mg-doped GaN films, ZnO nanowire arrays, and Al-doped ZnO films. Such nanowire-inserted heterojunction diodes, due to the nanosized junctions having good interfacial contacts without crystalline defects, exhibited improved electroluminescence emission and injection current compared to those of film-based GaN/ZnO heterojunctions diodes. Blue-light emission by a high injection current through the nano-sized heterojunction interface facilitate the development of efficient GaN/ZnO heterojunctions LEDs using ZnO nanowires. These nanowire-inserted structures have potential to be applied to other heterojunction systems for device applications with improved device performance.