Epitaxial Growth and Characterization of AlInN-Based Core-Shell Nanowire Light Emitting Diodes Operating in the Ultraviolet Spectrum

We report the demonstration of the first axial AlInN ultraviolet core-shell nanowire light-emitting diodes with highly stable emission in the ultraviolet wavelength range. During epitaxial growth of the AlInN layer, an AlInN shell is spontaneously formed, resulting in reduced nonradiative recombination on the nanowire surface. The AlInN nanowires exhibit a high internal quantum efficiency of ~52% at room temperature for emission at 295 nm. The peak emission wavelength can be varied from 290 nm to 355 nm by changing the growth conditions. Moreover, significantly strong transverse magnetic (TM) polarized emission is recorded, which is ~4 times stronger than the transverse electric (TE) polarized light at 295 nm. This study provides an alternative approach for the fabrication of new types of high-performance ultraviolet light emitters.