Hybrid green LEDs with n-type ZnO substituted for n-type GaN in an inverted p-n junction

Recently, the GaN and ZnO materials systems have attracted considerable attention because of their use in a broad range of emerging applications including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar cells. GaN and ZnO are similar materials with direct wide bandgaps, wurtzite crystal structure, high thermal stability and comparable thermal expansion coefficients, which makes them well suited for heterojunction fabrication. Two important advantages of GaN over ZnO are the reliable p-type doping and the mature know-how for bandgap engineering. Thus GaN-based LEDs can be made to emit from the deep UV right into the green through alloying with Al and In, respectively. The performance is not identical at all wavelengths, however, and the performance of InGaN-based green LEDs is still relatively poor.