III-Nitride Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Artificial Photosynthesis Applications

PASSCODE: nitride

Over the past few decades, III-nitride material has been subject to intense research for various optoelectronic and electronic applications due to many appealing material properties, such as accessibility of the material system to a wide range on the electromagnetic spectrum from the ultraviolet to the infrared, high breakdown field, high electron mobility, and significant polarization and piezoelectric effects. More recently, III-nitride nanostructures have also garnered significant interest for applications in artificial photosynthesis reactions, in which solar energy is stored in the formation of energy-rich chemical bonds. This dissertation presents work on III-nitride nanostructures for optoelectronic and solar fuel generation applications, with an emphasis on the critical role that low-dimensional properties play.More specifically, the presented projects include: The discovery and demonstration of growth strategies for stable and efficient red emitting InGaN micro-LEDs; the first demonstration of spectrally sharp micro-LED emissions based on photonic crystal effects at wavelengths greater than 600 nm; demonstration of the determining role that crystallographic orientation plays in GaN photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution; as well as a first demonstration and initial characterization of some exotic III-nitride nanostructures, such as van der Waals epitaxy of GaN quantum dots on hexagonal boron nitride and atomically sharp AlN/GaN interfaces.

CHAIR: Professor Zetian Mi