Molecular beam epitaxy growth of Al-rich AlGaN nanowires for deep ultraviolet optoelectronics

Self-organized AlGaN nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy have attracted significant attention for deep ultraviolet optoelectronics. However, due to the strong compositional modulations under conventional nitrogen rich growth conditions, emission wavelengths less than 250 nm have remained inaccessible. Here we show that Al-rich AlGaN nanowires with much improved compositional uniformity can be achieved in a new growth paradigm, wherein a precise control on the optical bandgap of ternary AlGaN nanowires can be achieved by varying the substrate temperature. AlGaN nanowire LEDs, with emission wavelengths spanning from 236 to 280 nm, are also demonstrated.