journal article·2026-03-18

Voltage-Controlled Dual-Band Electroluminescence from In-Doped hBN/GaN Heterojunctions for Switchable UV–Visible Emission

Qiuguo Li, Jinfeng Zhang, Junda He, Jiahao Yan, Puxiang Lai, Baojun Li, Xianguang Yang

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 18· Issue 10
Publisher page

Abstract

Achieving efficient n-type doping in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) remains a critical challenge for deep-UV optoelectronics. Here, we demonstrate voltage-controlled dual-band electroluminescence (EL) in In-doped hBN heterostructures epitaxially grown on p-GaN via magnetic sputtering. Precise In doping introduces mid-gap states enabling n-type conductivity (carrier density: 3.87 × 10 18 cm –3 ) and activates ultraviolet emission (332 nm, 378 nm) above 6 V bias in In-doped hBN. Simultaneously, the GaN region exhibits bias-dependent blue (447 nm, <14 V) and UV-violet (377 nm, > 14 V) emission with broad visible bands. First-principles calculations reveal that In substitution at B sites creates recombination centers, while unintentional defects in GaN drive yellow–blue transitions. The p-n heterojunction facilitates efficient carrier injection, enabling dynamic spectral tuning from UV to visible light. This work establishes a new paradigm for adaptive light sources in wide-bandgap semiconductors.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials · Graphene research and applications · Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Electronic Functional Materials and Devices

Huizhou University

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Institute of Nanophotonics, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering

Jinan University

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Funding

Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province · Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities · National Natural Science Foundation of China

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