The Origin of the Yellow Luminescence Band in Be-Doped Bulk GaN

Photoluminescence (PL) from Be-doped bulk GaN crystals grown by the High Nitrogen Pressure Solution method was studied and compared with PL from GaN:Be layers on sapphire grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition techniques. The yellow luminescence band in the latter is caused by the isolated BeGa acceptor (the YLBe band), while the broad yellow band in bulk GaN:Be crystals is a superposition of the YLBe band and another band, most likely the CN-related YL1 band. The attribution of the yellow band in bulk GaN:Be crystals to the BeGaON complex (a deep donor) is questioned.