White electroluminescence from ZnO nanorods/p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes under reverse bias

Heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on arrays of ZnO nanorods were fabricated on p-GaN films by the hydrothermal method. Without any phosphors, white-light electroluminescence (EL) from ZnO nanorods/p-GaN heterojunction LEDs operated at reverse breakdown bias was observed. The EL spectra are composed of an ultraviolet (UV) emission centered at 382 nm, a blue light located at 431 nm and a broadband yellow–green light at around 547 nm, which originated from band-edge emission in ZnO, the Mg acceptor levels in p-GaN and the deep-level states near the ZnO/GaN interface, respectively. The chromaticity coordinates of EL spectrum are very close to the (0.333, 0.333) of standard white light. The origin of these emissions has been discussed and the tunneling effect in the interface is probably the mechanism to explain EL emission.