Time-resolved photoluminescence spectra have been recorded on three GaN epitaxial layers of thickness 2.5 μm, 7 μm and 16 μm, at various temperatures ranging from 8K to 300K. The layers were deposited by MOVPE on (0001) sapphire substrates with standard AlN buffer layers. To achieve good homogeneities, the growth was in-situ monitored by laser reflectometry. All GaN layers showed sharp excitonic peaks in cw PL and three excitonic contributions were seen by reflectivity. The recombination dynamics of excitons depends strongly upon the layer thickness. For the thinnest layer, exponential decays with τ ~ 35 ps have been measured for both XA and XB free excitons. For the thickest layer, the decay becomes biexponential with τ1 ~ 80 ps and τ2 ~ 250 ps. These values are preserved up to room temperature. By solving coupled rate equations in a four-level model, this evolution is interpreted in terms of the reduction of density of both shallow impurities and deep traps, versus layer thickness, roughly following a L−1 law.
