Wurtzite gallium phosphide (WZ GaP) has been predicted to exhibit a direct bandgap in the green spectral range. Optical transitions, however, are only weakly allowed by the symmetry of the bands. While efficient luminescence has been experimentally shown, the nature of the transitions is not yet clear. Here we apply tensile strain up to 6% and investigate the evolution of the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of WZ GaP nanowires (NWs). The pressure and polarization dependence of the emission together with a theoretical analysis of strain effects is employed to establish the nature and symmetry of the transitions. We identify the emission lines to be related to localized states with significant admixture of Δ7c symmetry and not exclusively related to the Δ8c conduction band minimum (CBM). The results emphasize the importance of strongly bound state-related emission in the pseudodirect semiconductor WZ GaP and contribute significantly to the understanding of the optoelectronic properties of this novel material.@en

We investigated the optical properties of wurtzite (WZ) GaP nanowires by performing photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL measurements in the temperature range from 4 K to 300 K, together with atom probe tomography to identify residual impurities in the nanowires. At low temperature, the WZ GaP luminescence shows donor-acceptor pair emission at 2.115 eV and 2.088 eV, and Burstein-Moss band-filling continuum between 2.180 and 2.253 eV, resulting in a direct band gap above 2.170 eV. Sharp exciton α-β-γ lines are observed at 2.140-2.164-2.252 eV, respectively, showing clear differences in lifetime, presence of phonon replicas, and temperature-dependence. The excitonic nature of those peaks is critically discussed, leading to a direct band gap of ∼2.190 eV and to a resonant state associated with the γ-line ∼80 meV above the Γ8C conduction band edge.@en

We investigated the optical properties of wurtzite (WZ) GaP nanowires by performing photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL measurements in the temperature range from 4 K to 300 K, together with atom probe tomography to identify residual impurities in the nanowires. At low temperature, the WZ GaP luminescence shows donor-acceptor pair emission at 2.115 eV and 2.088 eV, and Burstein-Moss band-filling continuum between 2.180 and 2.253 eV, resulting in a direct band gap above 2.170 eV. Sharp exciton α-β-γ lines are observed at 2.140-2.164-2.252 eV, respectively, showing clear differences in lifetime, presence of phonon replicas, and temperature-dependence. The excitonic nature of those peaks is critically discussed, leading to a direct band gap of ∼2.190 eV and to a resonant state associated with the γ-line ∼80 meV above the Γ8C conduction band edge.@en