¹V. Lashkaryov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
41, prospect Nauky, 03028 Kyiv, Ukraine
²State University of Information and Communication Technologies, 7, Solomenska str., 03110 Kyiv, Ukraine
E-mail: milenin.gv@gmail.com; redko.rom@gmail.com

Abstract. Photoluminescence of aluminum nitride films at the below bandgap excitation has been studied. It has been found that low-energy (up to 2.02 eV) photoluminescence spectra of the AlN films contain a series of equidistant maxima, the intensities of which decrease with energy. Theoretical analysis has shown that the observed photoluminescence features may be caused by strong electron-phonon interaction (long-range interaction of electrons in the band gap with Al3+ ions in the lattice sites). This interaction presumably leads to appearance of quasi-particles in the band gap of AlN, which are a bound state of an electron with an ion in a crystal lattice site. Such quasi-particles have been called “elions”. The energy of an elion is quantized. An elion quantum is equal to the longitudinal optical phonon energy. The low-energy photoluminescence is based on the elion generation and subsequent annihilation mechanism.

Keywords:aluminum nitride, photoluminescence, electron-phonon interaction, bound state of electron and ion, quasi-particle, elion.

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