A polarization-modulation method for the near-field mapping of laterally grown InGaN samples

Epitaxial Laterally overgrown (ELOG) InGaN materials are investigated using a polarization modulated scanning near-field optical microscope. The authors found that luminescence has spatial inhomogeneities and it is partially polarized. Near-field photoluminescence shows polarization phase fluctuation up to 45 degrees over adjacent domains. These results point toward the existence of asymmetries in carrier confinement due to structural anisotropic strain within the framework of the ELOG structure. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.