Photoluminescence spectroscopy is an important approach for examining the optical interactions in semiconductors and optical devices with the goal of gaining insight into material properties. With contributions from researchers at the forefront of this field, Handbook of Luminescent Semiconductor Materials explores the use of this technique to study semiconductor materials in a variety of applications, including solid-state lighting, solar energy conversion, optical devices, and biological imaging. After introducing basic semiconductor theory and photoluminescence principles, the book focuses on the optical properties of wide-bandgap semiconductors, such as AlN, GaN, and ZnO. It then presents research on narrow-bandgap semiconductors and solid-state lighting. The book also covers the optical properties of semiconductors in the nanoscale regime, including quantum dots and nanocrystals. This handbook explains how photoluminescence spectroscopy is a powerful and practical analytical tool for revealing the fundamentals of light interaction and, thus, the optical properties of semiconductors. The book shows how luminescent semiconductors are used in lasers, photodiodes, infrared detectors, light-emitting diodes, solid-state lamps, solar energy, and biological imaging.

Table of Contents

Principles of Photoluminescence, Baldassare Di Bartolo and John Collins AlN: Properties and Applications, Ashok Sedhain, Jingyu Lin, and Hongxing Jiang GaN-Based Optical Devices, Hiroaki Ohta, Steven P. DenBaars, and Shuji Nakamura Photoluminescence of ZnO: Basics and Applications, Klaus Thonke and Martin Feneberg Novel Applications of ZnO: Random Lasing and UV Photonic Light Sources, Hui Cao and Robert P.H. Chang Luminescent ZnO and MgZnO, Leah Bergman, Jesse Huso, John L. Morrison, and M. Grant Norton Luminescence Studies of Impurities and Defects in III-Nitride Semiconductors, Bo Monemar and Plamen P. Paskov Narrow-Gap Semiconductors for Infrared Detectors, Antoni Rogalski Solid-State Lighting, Lekhnath Bhusal and Angelo Mascarenhas Fundamentals of the Quantum Confinement Effect, Patanjali Kambhampati Selenide and Sulfide Quantum Dots and Nanocrystals: Optical Properties, Andrea M. Munro Radiative Cascades in Semiconductor Quantum Dots, Eilon Poem and David Gershoni Photoluminescence and Carrier Transport in Nanocrystalline TiO2, Jeanne L. McHale and Fritz J. Knorr Photoluminescence Spectroscopy of Single Semiconductor Nanoparticles, Takashi Tachikawa and Tetsuro Majima Biological Applications of Photoluminescent Semiconductor Quantum Dots, Oleg Kovtun and Sandra J. Rosenthal Index

About the Author

Leah Bergman is an associate professor of physics at the University of Idaho. She has been a recipient of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Bergman's research is in the field of optical materials with a focus on wide-bandgap luminescent semiconductors. Jeanne L. McHale is a professor of chemistry and materials science at Washington State University. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. McHale's research focuses on spectroscopic studies of semiconductor nanoparticles and chromophore aggregates relevant to solar energy conversion.