Enhanced ultraviolet electroluminescence from ZnO nanoparticles via decoration of partially oxidized Al layer

We construct the ZnO-based superluminescent light-emitting diodes (SLEDs) by spin-coating ZnO nano-particles onto p-GaN/sapphire substrate. By inserting another thin Al layer to form an n-ZnO/Al/n-ZnO/p-GaN sandwich structured SLD, the intensities of the photoluminescence and electroluminescence were greatly enhanced, which can be attributed to the surface plasmon resonance of this Al layer. The tendency of the intensities of the entire electroluminescence spectra shows a super-linearly behavior with increasing the forward bias. Besides, the spectral bandwidth is narrowed down enormously owing to the achievement of the SLD. Furthermore, the interfacial emissions between ZnO/GaN are effectively suppressed by partially oxidizing the Al layer.