Intermedial annealing process applied during the growth of quantum wells and its influence on the performance of GaN-based laser diodes

An intermedial annealing treatment is adopted during epitaxial growth of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), which is employed after each GaN cap layer growth is finished. Optical power, threshold current and slope efficiency of GaN-based laser diodes is improved through an appropriate intermedial annealing process. A further investigation about the influence of annealing duration on the luminescence characteristics of light-emitting diodes and the surface topography evolution of single quantum well layers is conducted through the study of electroluminescence, temperature dependent photoluminescence and atomic force microscopy. It is found that the improvement of GaN-based laser diode is attributed to reduction of nonradiative recombination centers in MQW, which is due to a better interface quality between well and barrier layers after an intermedial annealing process.