The AlGaN/GaN p–n junction has received extensive attention due to its capability of rapid photogenerated carrier separation in photodetection devices. The AlGaN/GaN heterojunction nanowires (NWs) have been especially endowed with new life for distinctive transport characteristics in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) detection field. A self-powered PEC ultraviolet photodetector (PEC UV PD) based on the p-AlGaN/n-GaN heterojunction NW is reported in this work. The n-GaN NW layer plays a crucial role as a current flow hub to regulate carrier transport, which mainly acts as a light absorber under 365 nm and carrier recombination layer under 255 nm illumination, which can effectively modulate photoresponsivity at different wavelengths. Furthermore, by designing the thicknesses of the NW layer, the photocurrent polarity reversal was successfully achieved in the constructed AlGaN/GaN NW PEC UV PD at two different light wavelengths. In addition, by combining with platinum decoration, the photoresponse performance could be further enhanced. Our work provides insight into transport mechanisms in the AlGaN/GaN NW PEC system, and offers a feasible and comprehensive strategy for further exploration of multifunctional optoelectronic devices.

We fabricated p-i-n tunnel junction (TJ) contacts for hole injection on c-plane green micro-light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) by a hybrid growth approach using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) and metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The TJ was formed by an MBE-grown ultra-thin unintentionally doped InGaN polarization layer and an n++/n+-GaN layer on the activated p++-GaN layer prepared by MOCVD. This hybrid growth approach allowed for the realization of a steep doping interface and ultrathin depletion width for efficient inter-band tunneling. Compared to standard micro-LEDs, the TJ micro-LEDs showed a reduced device resistance, enhanced electroluminescence intensity, and a reduced efficiency droop. The size-independent J-V characteristics indicate that TJ could serve as an excellent current spreading layer. All these results demonstrated that hybrid TJ contacts contributed to the realization of high-performance micro-LEDs with long emission wavelengths.

Understanding detailed avalanche mechanisms is critical for design optimization of avalanche photodiodes (APDs). In this work, avalanche characteristics and single photon counting performance of 4H-SiC n-i-p and p-i-n APDs are compared. By studying the evolution of breakdown voltage as a function of incident light wavelength, it is confirmed that at the deep ultraviolet (UV) wavelength region the avalanche events in 4H-SiC n-i-p APDs are mainly induced by hole-initiated ionization, while electron-initiated ionization is the main cause of avalanche breakdown in 4H-SiC p-i-n APDs. Meanwhile, at the same dark count rate, the single photon counting efficiency of n-i-p APDs is considerably higher than that of p-i-n APDs. The higher performance of n-i-p APDs can be explained by the larger impact ionization coefficient of holes in 4H-SiC. In addition, this is the first time, to the best of our knowledge, to report single photon detection performance of vertical 4H-SiC n-i-p-n APDs.

In this work, a GaN p-i-n diode based on Mg ion implantation for visible-blind UV detection is demonstrated. With an optimized implantation and annealing process, a p-GaN layer and corresponding GaN p-i-n photodiode are achieved via Mg implantation. As revealed in the UV detection characterizations, these diodes exhibit a sharp wavelength cutoff at 365 nm, high UV/visible rejection ratio of 1.2×104, and high photoresponsivity of 0.35 A/W, and are proved to be comparable with commercially available GaN p-n photodiodes. Additionally, a localized states-related gain mechanism is systematically investigated, and a relevant physics model of electric-field-assisted photocarrier hopping is proposed. The demonstrated Mg ion-implantation-based approach is believed to be an applicable and CMOS-process-compatible technology for GaN-based p-i-n photodiodes.