Violet luminescence of Mg‐doped GaN

The photoluminescent and electroluminescent properties of GaN–GaN:Mg diodes are described. Visible violet electroluminescence was observed with excitation voltages of 10–20 V with the emission peak in the region of 2.9 eV. The I‐V characteristics showed I ∞ V³ in the region where light was emitted, and the observed power efficiency was approximately 10⁻⁵. A photoluminescence peak at 2.9 eV provided additional evidence for an acceptor level, associated with the Mg impurity, about 0.5 eV above the valence band.