Abstract
Temperature-dependent picosecond non-degenerate four-wave-mixing experiments were performed to explore the carrier dynamics in an InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well sample, in which light emission enhancement with surface plasmon (SP) coupling has been identified. In the time-resolved photoluminescence results, we can identify the faster carrier decay time of the sample with surface plasmon coupling. The faster decay time is due to this sample's ability to create additional channels for effective carrier recombination. In the four-wave-mixing results, a slower grating decay time of the sample with surface plasmon coupling was measured. The diffusion coefficients and surface recombination velocities of photo-created carriers were estimated by modeling the decay rate of transient grating signals. For the sample for which surface plasmon coupling exists, smaller diffusion coefficients and slower surface recombination velocities can be estimated when the temperatures are above 150 K. The carriers coupling with some SP modes is not the only mechanism contributing to emission enhancement. In the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well sample, surface recombination suppressed by SP coupling is another factor for increased light emission efficiency. © 2011 Optical Society of America.