On the phenomenon of large photoluminescence red shift in GaN nanoparticles

We report on the observation of broad photoluminescence wavelength tunability from n-type gallium nitride nanoparticles (GaN NPs) fabricated using the ultraviolet metal-assisted electroless etching method. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy measurements performed on the nanoparticles revealed large size dispersion ranging from 10 to 100 nm. Nanoparticles with broad tunable emission wavelength from 362 to 440 nm have been achieved by exciting the samples using the excitation power-dependent method. We attribute this large wavelength tunability to the localized potential fluctuations present within the GaN matrix and to vacancy-related surface states. Our results show that GaN NPs fabricated using this technique are promising for tunable-color-temperature white light-emitting diode applications.