by Savannah R. Watson, Miguel L. Crespillo, Steven L. Frankowski, Khalid Hattar, Thaddeus J. Asel, Alexander Chaney, Adam T. Neal, Shin Mou, Sunil Kumar, Gastón García López, José Olivares, Joseph T. Graham and Maik Lang
Abstract:
The ionoluminescence response of the ultraviolet emission bands in wurtzite GaN was investigated in situ under 1.75 MeV O2+ irradiation from 68 to 200 K. A systematic decrease in luminescence intensity with increasing ion fluence was observed, evidencing the formation of non-radiative recombination centers. The quenching behavior exhibits a pronounced temperature dependence, reflecting the complex competition between defect formation, migration, and recovery processes. Arrhenius analysis of thermal quenching at the onset of irradiation revealed an activation energy of 105 meV for the dominant non-radiative process. The beam-induced cross sections associated with non-radiative recombination were obtained by fitting an analytical model to the ion fluence dependent yield curves. The cross sections were found to increase as temperature is reduced, indicating enhanced efficiency of the non-radiative channel when defect mobility and/or dynamic annealing are suppressed. This study provides insights into the role that radiation-induced structural defects may play on electronic transport properties in GaN-based devices used in low temperature radiation environments, such as those found in satellites and spacecraft.
Reference:
Savannah R. Watson, Miguel L. Crespillo, Steven L. Frankowski, Khalid Hattar, Thaddeus J. Asel, Alexander Chaney, Adam T. Neal, Shin Mou, Sunil Kumar, Gastón García López, José Olivares, Joseph T. Graham and Maik Lang, “Fluence and temperature dependence of non-radiative carrier recombination in GaN ultraviolet bands under ion irradiation”, Optical Materials, vol. 179, pp. 118317.
Bibtex Entry:
@article{watson_fluence_2026,
title = {Fluence and temperature dependence of non-radiative carrier recombination in {GaN} ultraviolet bands under ion irradiation},
volume = {179},
issn = {0925-3467},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925346726004775},
doi = {10.1016/j.optmat.2026.118317},
abstract = {The ionoluminescence response of the ultraviolet emission bands in wurtzite GaN was investigated in situ under 1.75 MeV O2+ irradiation from 68 to 200 K. A systematic decrease in luminescence intensity with increasing ion fluence was observed, evidencing the formation of non-radiative recombination centers. The quenching behavior exhibits a pronounced temperature dependence, reflecting the complex competition between defect formation, migration, and recovery processes. Arrhenius analysis of thermal quenching at the onset of irradiation revealed an activation energy of 105 meV for the dominant non-radiative process. The beam-induced cross sections associated with non-radiative recombination were obtained by fitting an analytical model to the ion fluence dependent yield curves. The cross sections were found to increase as temperature is reduced, indicating enhanced efficiency of the non-radiative channel when defect mobility and/or dynamic annealing are suppressed. This study provides insights into the role that radiation-induced structural defects may play on electronic transport properties in GaN-based devices used in low temperature radiation environments, such as those found in satellites and spacecraft.},
urldate = {2026-10-02},
journal = {Optical Materials},
author = {Watson, Savannah R. and Crespillo, Miguel L. and Frankowski, Steven L. and Hattar, Khalid and Asel, Thaddeus J. and Chaney, Alexander and Neal, Adam T. and Mou, Shin and Kumar, Sunil and López, Gastón García and Olivares, José and Graham, Joseph T. and Lang, Maik},
month = nov,
year = {2026},
keywords = {Defects, Extreme environments, Gallium nitride, Luminescence, Radiation effects, Transport properties},
pages = {118317},
file = {ScienceDirect Full Text PDF:E:\Usuarios\Administrator\Zotero\storage\ZSKZS2GQ\Watson et al. - 2026 - Fluence and temperature dependence of non-radiative carrier recombination in GaN ultraviolet bands u.pdf:application/pdf;ScienceDirect Snapshot:E:\Usuarios\Administrator\Zotero\storage\QI2LXY9Y\S0925346726004775.html:text/html},
}