Flexible GaN Light-Emitting Diodes Using GaN Microdisks Epitaxial Laterally Overgrown on Graphene Dots

Pulsed-Mode Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy of GaN on Graphene-Coated c-Sapphire for Freestanding GaN Thin Films

We report the growth of high-quality GaN epitaxial thin films on graphene-coated c-sapphire substrates using pulsed-mode metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy, together with the fabrication of freestanding GaN films by simple mechanical exfoliation for transferable light-emitting diodes (LEDs). High-quality GaN films grown on the graphene-coated sapphire substrates were easily lifted off by using thermal release tape and transferred onto foreign substrates. Furthermore, we revealed that the pulsed operation of ammonia flow during GaN growth was a critical factor for the fabrication of high-quality freestanding GaN films. These films, exhibiting excellent single crystallinity, were utilized to fabricate transferable GaN LEDs by heteroepitaxially growing InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells and a p-GaN layer on the GaN films, showing their potential application in advanced optoelectronic devices.

Technological Breakthroughs in Chip Fabrication, Transfer, and Color Conversion for High-Performance Micro-LED Displays

The implementation of high-efficiency and high-resolution displays has been the focus of considerable research interest. Recently, micro light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs), which are inorganic light-emitting diodes of size <100 µm2 , have emerged as a promising display technology owing to their superior features and advantages over other displays like liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes. Although many companies have introduced micro-LED displays since 2012, obstacles to mass production still exist. Three major challenges, i.e., low quantum efficiency, time-consuming transfer, and complex color conversion, have been overcome with technological breakthroughs to realize cost-effective micro-LED displays. In the review, methods for improving the degraded quantum efficiency of GaN-based micro-LEDs induced by the size effect are examined, including wet chemical treatment, passivation layer adoption, LED structure design, and growing LEDs in self-passivated structures. Novel transfer technologies, including pick-up transfer and self-assembly methods, for developing large-area micro-LED displays with high yield and reliability are discussed in depth. Quantum dots as color conversion materials for high color purity, and deposition methods such as electrohydrodynamic jet printing or contact printing on micro-LEDs are also addressed. This review presents current status and critical challenges of micro-LED technology and promising technical breakthroughs for commercialization of high-performance displays.

Lattice modulation strategies for 2D material assisted epitaxial growth

As an emerging single crystals growth technique, the 2D-material-assisted epitaxy shows excellent advantages in flexible and transferable structure fabrication, dissimilar materials integration, and matter assembly, which offers opportunities for novel optoelectronics and electronics development and opens a pathway for the next-generation integrated system fabrication. Studying and understanding the lattice modulation mechanism in 2D-material-assisted epitaxy could greatly benefit its practical application and further development. In this review, we overview the tremendous experimental and theoretical findings in varied 2D-material-assisted epitaxy. The lattice guidance mechanism and corresponding epitaxial relationship construction strategy in remote epitaxy, van der Waals epitaxy, and quasi van der Waals epitaxy are discussed, respectively. Besides, the possible application scenarios and future development directions of 2D-material-assisted epitaxy are also given. We believe the discussions and perspectives exhibited here could help to provide insight into the essence of the 2D-material-assisted epitaxy and motivate novel structure design and offer solutions to heterogeneous integration via the 2D-material-assisted epitaxy method.

Principles for 2D-Material-Assisted Nitrides Epitaxial Growth

Beyond traditional heteroepitaxy, 2D-materials-assisted epitaxy opens opportunities to revolutionize future material integration methods. However, basic principles in 2D-material-assisted nitrides' epitaxy remain unclear, which impedes understanding the essence, thus hindering its progress. Here, the crystallographic information of nitrides/2D material interface is theoretically established, which is further confirmed experimentally. It is found that the atomic interaction at the nitrides/2D material interface is related to the nature of underlying substrates. For single-crystalline substrates, the heterointerface behaves like a covalent one and the epilayer inherits the substrate's lattice. Meanwhile, for amorphous substrates, the heterointerface tends to be a van der Waals one and strongly relies on the properties of 2D materials. Therefore, modulated by graphene, the nitrides' epilayer is polycrystalline. In contrast, single-crystalline GaN films are successfully achieved on WS₂ . These results provide a suitable growth-front construction strategy for high-quality 2D-material-assisted nitrides' epitaxy. It also opens a pathway toward various semiconductors heterointegration.

Applications of remote epitaxy and van der Waals epitaxy

Epitaxy technology produces high-quality material building blocks that underpin various fields of applications. However, fundamental limitations exist for conventional epitaxy, such as the lattice matching constraints that have greatly narrowed down the choices of available epitaxial material combinations. Recent emerging epitaxy techniques such as remote and van der Waals epitaxy have shown exciting perspectives to overcome these limitations and provide freestanding nanomembranes for massive novel applications. Here, we review the mechanism and fundamentals for van der Waals and remote epitaxy to produce freestanding nanomembranes. Key benefits that are exclusive to these two growth strategies are comprehensively summarized. A number of original applications have also been discussed, highlighting the advantages of these freestanding films-based designs. Finally, we discuss the current limitations with possible solutions and potential future directions towards nanomembranes-based advanced heterogeneous integration.

Modulation of Remote Epitaxial Heterointerface by Graphene-Assisted Attenuative Charge Transfer

Remote epitaxy (RE), substrate polarity can "penetrate" two-dimensional materials (2DMs) and act on the epi-layer, showing a prospective universal growth strategy. However, essentially, the role that 2DMs plays in RE has not been deeply investigated so far. Here, the RE of single-crystal films on the weakest polarity/iconicity substrate is realized to reveal its essence physical properties. Graphene facilitates attenuative charge transfer (ACT) from a substrate to epi-layer to construct remote interactions. Interfacial atoms are assembled into "incommensurate" epitaxial relationships through graphene to reduce misfit dislocations in the epi-layer. Moreover, graphene reduces the atomic migration barrier, leading to a tendency toward a "layer-by-layer" growth mode. Such film growth mode is different with the conventional epitaxy (CE), and it is beneficial for the fast growth of epi-layers and the reduction of dislocations at coalescence boundaries. The insightful revelation of the role of graphene reveals the interface physics of RE and provides a more valuable guide to using 2DMs to expand three-dimensional materials (3DMs) for application in devices.

Siloxane Hybrid Material-Encapsulated Highly Robust Flexible μLEDs for Biocompatible Lighting Applications

Flexible micro-light-emitting diodes (f-μLEDs) have been regarded as an attractive light source for the next-generation human-machine interfaces, thanks to their noticeable optoelectronic performances. However, when it comes to their practical utilizations fulfilling industrial standards, there have been unsolved reliability and durability issues of the f-μLEDs, despite previous developments in the high-performance f-μLEDs for various applications. Herein, highly robust flexible μLEDs (f-HμLEDs) with 20 × 20 arrays, which are realized by a siloxane-based organic-inorganic hybrid material (SHM), are reported. The f-HμLEDs are created by combining the f-μLED fabrication process with SHM synthesis procedures (i.e., sol-gel reaction and successive photocuring). The outstanding mechanical, thermal, and environmental stabilities of our f-HμLEDs are confirmed by a host of experimental and theoretical examinations, including a bending fatigue test (10⁵ bending/unbending cycles), a lifetime accelerated stress test (85 °C and 85% relative humidity), and finite element method simulations. Eventually, to demonstrate the potential of our f-HμLEDs for practical applications of flexible displays and/or biomedical devices, their white light emission due to quantum dot-based color conversion of blue light emitted by GaN-based f-HμLEDs is demonstrated, and the biocompatibility of our f-HμLEDs is confirmed via cytotoxicity and cell proliferation tests with muscle, bone, and neuron cell lines. As far as we can tell, this work is the first demonstration of the flexible μLED encapsulation platform based on the SHM, which proved its mechanical, thermal, and environmental stabilities and biocompatibility, enabling us to envisage biomedical and/or flexible display applications using our f-HμLEDs.

Synthesis of Atomically Thin h-BN Layers Using BCl3 and NH3 by Sequential-Pulsed Chemical Vapor Deposition on Cu Foil

The chemical vapor deposition of hexagonal boron nitride layers from BCl₃ and NH₃ is highly beneficial for scalable synthesis with high controllability, yet multiple challenges such as corrosive reaction or by-product formation have hindered its successful demonstration. Here, we report the synthesis of polycrystalline hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) layers on copper foil using BCl₃ and NH₃. The sequential pulse injection of precursors leads to the formation of atomically thin h-BN layers with a polycrystalline structure. The relationship between growth temperature and crystallinity of the h-BN film is investigated using transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Investigation on the initial growth mode achieved by the suppression of precursor supply revealed the formation of triangular domains and existence of preferred crystal orientations. The possible growth mechanism of h-BN in this sequential-pulsed CVD is discussed.

Temperature Effect of van der Waals Epitaxial GaN Films on Pulse-Laser-Deposited 2D MoS2 Layer

Van der Waals epitaxial GaN thin films on c-sapphire substrates with a sp²-bonded two-dimensional (2D) MoS₂ buffer layer, prepared by pulse laser deposition, were investigated. Low temperature plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was successfully employed for the deposition of uniform and ~5 nm GaN thin films on layered 2D MoS₂ at different substrate temperatures of 500, 600 and 700 °C, respectively. The surface morphology, surface chemical composition, crystal microstructure, and optical properties of the GaN thin films were identified experimentally by using both in situ and ex situ characterizations. During the MBE growth with a higher substrate temperature, the increased surface migration of atoms contributed to a better formation of the GaN/MoS₂ heteroepitaxial structure. Therefore, the crystallinity and optical properties of GaN thin films can obviously be enhanced via the high temperature growth. Likewise, the surface morphology of GaN films can achieve a smoother and more stable chemical composition. Finally, due to the van der Waals bonding, the exfoliation of the heterostructure GaN/MoS₂ can also be conducted and investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The largest granular structure with good crystallinity of the GaN thin films can be observed in the case of the high-temperature growth at 700 °C.

Graphene-Nanorod Enhanced Quasi-Van Der Waals Epitaxy for High Indium Composition Nitride Films

The nitride films with high indium (In) composition play a crucial role in the fabrication of In-rich InGaN-based optoelectronic devices. However, a major limitation is In incorporation requiring a low temperature during growth at the expense of nitride dissociation. Here, to overcome this limitation, a strain-modulated growth method, namely the graphene (Gr)-nanorod (NR) enhanced quasi-van der Waals epitaxy, is proposed to increase the In composition in InGaN alloy. The lattice transparency of Gr enables constraint of in-plane orientation of nitride film and epitaxial relationships at the heterointerface. The Gr interlayer together with NRs buffer layer substantially reduces the stress of the GaN film by 74.4%, from 0.9 to 0.23 GPa, and thus increases the In incorporation by 30.7%. The first principles calculations confirm that the release of strain accounts for the dramatic improvement. The photoluminescence peak of multiple quantum wells shifts from 461 to 497 nm and the functionally small-sized cyan light-emitting diodes of 7 × 9 mil² are demonstrated. These findings provide an efficient approach for the growth of In-rich InGaN film and extend the applications of nitrides in advanced optoelectronic, photovoltaic, and thermoelectric devices.

Layer-Scale and Chip-Scale Transfer Techniques for Functional Devices and Systems: A Review

Hetero-integration of functional semiconductor layers and devices has received strong research interest from both academia and industry. While conventional techniques such as pick-and-place and wafer bonding can partially address this challenge, a variety of new layer transfer and chip-scale transfer technologies have been developed. In this review, we summarize such transfer techniques for heterogeneous integration of ultrathin semiconductor layers or chips to a receiving substrate for many applications, such as microdisplays and flexible electronics. We showed that a wide range of materials, devices, and systems with expanded functionalities and improved performance can be demonstrated by using these technologies. Finally, we give a detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques, and discuss the future research directions of layer transfer and chip transfer techniques.

Strategically constructed patterned sapphire with silica array to boost substrate performance in GaN-based flip-chip visible light-emitting diodes

A strategically constructed substrate, patterned sapphire with silica array (PSSA), was developed to boost the efficiency of patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) in GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) application. The light output power of a flip-chip LED on PSSA improved by 16.5% at 120 mA than that of device grown on PSS. The XRD and STEM measurements revealed that the GaN epilayer grown on PSSA had better crystalline quality compared to the epilayer grown on PSS, which was the result of decreased misfit at coalescence boundary in the PSSA case. Moreover, the light extraction efficiency of the flip-chip LED on PSSA was significantly enhanced, benefiting from the small refractive-index contrast between the patterned silica array and air. This small refractive-index contrast also contributed to a more convergent emission pattern for the flip-chip LED on PSSA, as demonstrated by the far-field radiation pattern measurements. The discovery that PSSA could excel at defect suppression and light extraction revealed a new substrate platform for III-nitride optoelectronic devices.

Multiple epitaxial lateral overgrowth of GaN thin films using a patterned graphene mask by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Single-crystal gallium nitride (GaN) thin films were grown using a graphene mask via multiple epitaxial lateral overgrowth (multiple-ELOG). During the growth process, the graphene mask self-decomposed to enable the emergence of a GaN film with a thickness of several hundred nanometres. This is in contrast to selective area growth of GaN using an SiO2 mask leading to the well known hexagonal-pyramid shape under the same growth conditions. The multiple-ELOG GaN had a single-crystalline wurtzite structure corresponding to the crystallinity of the GaN template, which was confirmed with electron backscatter diffraction measurements. An X-ray diffraction rocking curve of the asymmetric 102 reflection showed that the FWHM for the multiple-ELOG GaN decreased to 405 from 540′′ for the underlying GaN template. From these results, the self-decomposition of the graphene mask during ELOG was experimentally proven to be affected by the GaN decomposition rather than the high-temperature/H2 growth conditions.

Heat Dissipation in Flexible Nitride Nanowire Light-Emitting Diodes

We analyze the thermal behavior of a flexible nanowire (NW) light-emitting diode (LED) operated under different injection conditions. The LED is based on metal-organic vapor-phase deposition (MOCVD)-grown self-assembled InGaN/GaN NWs in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. Despite the poor thermal conductivity of the polymer, active nitride NWs effectively dissipate heat to the substrate. Therefore, the flexible LED mounted on a copper heat sink can operate under high injection without significant overheating, while the device mounted on a plastic holder showed a 25% higher temperature for the same injected current. The efficiency of the heat dissipation by nitride NWs was further confirmed with finite-element modeling of the temperature distribution in a NW/polymer composite membrane.

Flexible and monolithically integrated multicolor light emitting diodes using morphology-controlled GaN microstructures grown on graphene films

We report flexible and monolithically integrated multicolor light-emitting diode (LED) arrays using morphology-controlled growth of GaN microstructures on chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) graphene films. As the morphology-controlled growth template of GaN microstructures, we used position-controlled ZnO nanostructure arrays with different spacings grown on graphene substrates. In particular, we investigated the effect of the growth parameters, including micropattern spacings and growth time and temperature, on the morphology of the GaN microstructures when they were coated on ZnO nanostructures on graphene substrates. By optimizing the growth parameters, both GaN microrods and micropyramids formed simultaneously on the graphene substrates. Subsequent depositions of InGaN/GaN quantum well and p-GaN layers and n- and p-type metallization yielded monolithic integration of microstructural LED arrays on the same substrate, which enabled multicolor emission depending on the shape of the microstructures. Furthermore, the CVD graphene substrates beneath the microstructure LEDs facilitated transfer of the LED arrays onto any foreign substrate. In this study, Cu foil was used for flexible LEDs. The flexible devices exhibited stable electroluminescence, even under severe bending conditions. Cyclic bending tests demonstrated the excellent mechanical stability and reliability of the devices.

Van der Waals Epitaxy of III-Nitrides and Its Applications

III-nitride semiconductors have wide bandgap and high carrier mobility, making them suitable candidates for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes (LDs), high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and other optoelectronics. Compared with conventional epitaxy technique, van der Waals epitaxy (vdWE) has been proven to be a useful route to relax the requirements of lattice mismatch and thermal mismatch between the nitride epilayers and the substrates. By using vdWE, the stress in the epilayer can be sufficiently relaxed, and the epilayer can be easily exfoliated and transferred, which provides opportunities for novel device design and fabrication. In this paper, we review and discuss the important progress on the researches of nitrides vdWE. The potential applications of nitride vdWE are also prospected.

Van der Waals Epitaxy of III-Nitride Semiconductors Based on 2D Materials for Flexible Applications

III-nitride semiconductors have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their excellent physical properties and wide applications in solid-state lighting, flat-panel displays, and solar energy and power electronics. Generally, GaN-based devices are heteroepitaxially grown on c-plane sapphire, Si (111), or 6H-SiC substrates. However, it is very difficult to release the GaN-based films from such single-crystalline substrates and transfer them onto other foreign substrates. Consequently, it is difficult to meet the ever-increasing demand for wearable and foldable applications. On the other hand, sp² -bonded two-dimensional (2D) materials, which exhibit hexagonal in-plane lattice arrangements and weakly bonded layers, can be transferred onto flexible substrates with ease. Hence, flexible III-nitride devices can be implemented through such 2D release layers. In this progress report, the recent advances in the different strategies for the growth of III-nitrides based on 2D materials are reviewed, with a focus on van der Waals epitaxy and transfer printing. Various attempts are presented and discussed herein, including the different kinds of 2D materials (graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenides) used as release layers. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives regarding the development of flexible III-nitride devices are discussed.

Silver Nanorings Fabricated by Glycerol-Based Cosolvent Polyol Method

The urgent demand for transparent flexible electrodes applied in wide bandgap devices has promoted the development of new materials. Silver nanoring (AgNR), known as a special structure of silver nanowire (AgNW), exhibits attractive potential in the field of wearable electronics. In this work, an environmentally friendly glycerol-based cosolvent polyol method was investigated. The Taguchi design was utilized to ascertain the factors that affect the yield and ring diameter of AgNRs. Structural characterization showed that AgNR seeds grew at a certain angle during the early nucleation period. The results indicated that the yield and ring diameter of AgNRs were significantly affected by the ratio of cosolvent. Besides, the ring diameter of AgNRs was also tightly related to the concentration of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The difference of reducibility between glycerol, water, and ethylene glycol leads to the selective growth of (111) plane and is probably the main reason AgNRs are formed. As a result, AgNRs with a ring diameter range from 7.17 to 42.94 μm were synthesized, and the quantity was increased significantly under the optimal level of factors.

Soft nanocomposite electroadhesives for digital micro- and nanotransfer printing

Automated handling of microscale objects is essential for manufacturing of next-generation electronic systems. Yet, mechanical pick-and-place technologies cannot manipulate smaller objects whose surface forces dominate over gravity, and emerging microtransfer printing methods require multidirectional motion, heating, and/or chemical bonding to switch adhesion. We introduce soft nanocomposite electroadhesives (SNEs), comprising sparse forests of dielectric-coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which have electrostatically switchable dry adhesion. SNEs exhibit 40-fold lower nominal dry adhesion than typical solids, yet their adhesion is increased >100-fold by applying 30 V to the CNTs. We characterize the scaling of adhesion with surface morphology, dielectric thickness, and applied voltage and demonstrate digital transfer printing of films of Ag nanowires, polymer and metal microparticles, and unpackaged light-emitting diodes.

Colour optimization of phosphor-converted flexible nitride nanowire white light emitting diodes

We demonstrate flexible nanowire white light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) with an optimized colour quality. The devices consist of flexible InGaN/GaN nanowire LEDs acting as pumps, capped with removable phosphor-doped polydimethylsiloxane membranes. Five different phosphors with tens of microns in grain size emitting from green to orange are investigated using both violet-blue and a blue-green nanowire-based LED pumps. In addition, a flexible nanowire white LED with a warm white emission is demonstrated using two layers of different phosphors. Compared to the previous realizations of flexible nanowire white LEDs, these novel LEDs improve the colour rendering index from 54 to 86 and show a colour tuneable from a bluish cool white colour to natural white and finally to warm white. The flexibility tests show that the LEDs can be bent down to 1.5 cm curvature radius without significant degradation. Therefore, the replacement of the nano-phosphors used in the previous realization by relatively inexpensive micro-phosphors does not degrade the good mechanical flexibility of the white nanowire LEDs.

A self-assembled graphene nanomask for the epitaxial growth of nonplanar and planar GaN

Herein, we demonstrated the fabrication of architectural GaN nanostructures by the self-assembly NSAG (SNSAG) technology using multilayer graphene (MLG) as a nanomask.

Chromium/Nickel-Doped Silicon Oxide Thin-Film Electrode: Mechanism and Application to Microscale Light-Emitting Diodes

Light extraction of microscale light-emitting diodes (μLEDs) is fundamentally limited by p-type metal electrodes for current injection due to the small pixel size of the LEDs. We propose Cr/Ni-doped silicon oxide (CN-SiO_X) films as p-type contact electrodes for blue μLEDs to increase the light-output power under the same emitting areas. The conductivity of CN-SiO_X electrode originates from the diffusion of top Cr/Ni atoms via electric-field-induced doping treatments, which allows for effective hole injection into the active layer. Consequently, we achieved a 62% improvement in the current density and a 47% increase in the light-output power compared to ITO-based μLEDs.

Nitride-Based Microlight-Emitting Diodes Using AlN Thin-Film Electrodes with Nanoscale Indium/Tin Conducting Filaments

Microlight-emitting diodes (µLEDs) are emerging solutions for both high-quality displays and lighting technologies. However, the overall light output power density of these devices is low, as the emission area is shielded by the p-electrodes required for current injection. In this study, instead of the more conventionally used indium tin oxide (ITO), an AlN thin film with nanoscale conducing filaments (CFs) is used, referred to as CF-AlN, as a transparent conducting electrode (TCE), to enhance the output power density from the same emission area. As a result of this modification, the electroluminescence intensity is enhanced by 10% at an injection current of 10 mA, and the current density is improved by 13% at a forward voltage of 4.9 V, in comparison to the parameters observed with ITO-based µLEDs. This improvement is attributed to the higher transmittance of CF-AlN TCEs, together with efficient hole injection from the p-electrode into the light-emitting layer, through the CFs formed in the AlN layer. In addition, using transmission electron microscopy analyses, the origin of the CFs is directly identified as the diffusion of In and Sn ions, which provides critical insight into the conduction mechanism of AlN-based TCEs.

Direct Growth of AlGaN Nanorod LEDs on Graphene-Covered Si

High density of defects and stress owing to the lattice and thermal mismatch between nitride materials and heterogeneous substrates have always been important problems and limit the development of nitride materials. In this paper, AlGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were grown directly on a single-layer graphene-covered Si (111) substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) without a metal catalyst. The nanorods was nucleated by AlGaN nucleation islands with a 35% Al composition, and included n-AlGaN, 6 period of AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs), and p-AlGaN. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) showed that the nanorods were vertically aligned and had an accordant orientation along the [0001] direction. The structure of AlGaN nanorod LEDs was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Raman measurements of graphene before and after MOCVD growth revealed the graphene could withstand the high temperature and ammonia atmosphere in MOCVD. Photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) characterized an emission at ~325 nm and demonstrated the low defects density in AlGaN nanorod LEDs.

Super flexible GaN light emitting diodes using microscale pyramid arrays through laser lift-off and dual transfer

We demonstrated a method to obtain super flexible LEDs, based on high quality pyramid arrays grown directly on sapphire substrates. Laser lift-off (LLO) and dual transfer processes were applied to transfer pyramid arrays face up onto the flexible substrates, which is more efficient than back light emission. Ag grid and Ag nanowires were employed as the electrical connection. No significant performance reduction appeared until the device reached a curvature radius of 0.5 mm. The performance reduction results from cracks appearing at the junction of the Ag grid, which can be improved by replacing the Ag grid with a strip electrode.

Room-Temperature Synthesis of GaN Driven by Kinetic Energy beyond the Limit of Thermodynamics

The nitridation reaction is significantly important to utilize the unique properties of nitrides and nitrogen-doped materials. However, nitridation generally requires a high temperature or highly reactive reagents (often explosive) because the energies of N-N bond cleavage and nitrogen anion formation (N^3-) are very high. We demonstrate the first room-temperature synthesis of GaN directly from GaCl₃ by nanoscale atom exchange reaction. Nonequilibrium nitrogen molecules with very high translational energy were used as a chemically stable and safe nitrogen source. The irradiation of molecular nitrogen to the desired reaction area successfully provided a gallium nitride (GaN) nanosheet that exhibited a typical photoluminescence spectrum. Because this process retains the target substrate room temperature and does not involve any photon nor charged ion, it allows damage-less synthesis of the semiconducting metal nitrides, even directly on plastic substrates such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Diverse Functionalities of Vertically Stacked Graphene/Single layer n-MoS2/SiO2/p-GaN Heterostructures

Integrating different dimentional materials on vertically stacked p-n hetero-junctions have facinated a considerable scrunity and can open up excellent feasibility with various functionalities in opto-electronic devices. Here, we demonstrate that vertically stacked p-GaN/SiO₂/n-MoS₂/Graphene heterostructures enable to exhibit prominent dual opto-electronic characteristics, including efficient photo-detection and light emission, which represents the emergence of a new class of devices. The photoresponsivity was found to achieve as high as ~10.4 AW⁻¹ and the detectivity and external quantum efficiency were estimated to be 1.1 × 10¹⁰ Jones and ~30%, respectively. These values are superier than most reported hererojunction devices. In addition, this device exhibits as a self-powered photodetector, showing a high responsivity and fast response speed. Moreover, the device demonstrates the light emission with low turn-on voltage (~1.0 V) which can be realized by electron injection from graphene electrode and holes from GaN film into monolayer MoS₂ layer. These results indicate that with a suitable choice of band alignment, the vertical stacking of materials with different dimentionalities could be significant potential for integration of highly efficient heterostructures and open up feasible pathways towards integrated nanoscale multi-functional optoelectronic devices for a variety of applications.

Flexible resistive random access memory devices by using NiO x /GaN microdisk arrays fabricated on graphene films

We report flexible resistive random access memory (ReRAM) arrays fabricated by using NiO _x /GaN microdisk arrays on graphene films. The ReRAM device was created from discrete GaN microdisk arrays grown on graphene films produced by chemical vapor deposition, followed by deposition of NiO _x thin layers and Au metal contacts. The microdisk ReRAM arrays were transferred to flexible plastic substrates by a simple lift-off technique. The electrical and memory characteristics of the ReRAM devices were investigated under bending conditions. Resistive switching characteristics, including cumulative probability, endurance, and retention, were measured. After 1000 bending repetitions, no significant change in the device characteristics was observed. The flexible ReRAM devices, constructed by using only inorganic materials, operated reliably at temperatures as high as 180 °C.