AbstractThe effects of Si, O, C and N ion implantation with different implantation doses on yellow luminescence (YL) of GaN have been investigated. The as-grown GaN samples used in the work were of unintentional doped n-type, and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of samples had strong YL. The experimental results showed that YL of ion implanted samples exhibited marked reductions compared to samples with no implantation, while the near band edge (NBE) emissions were reduced to a lesser extent. The deep-level centers associated with YL may be produced in GaN films by O and C ion implantation, and identities of these deep-level centers were analyzed. It was also found that the dose dependence of YL was analogous with the one of the intensity ratios of YL to the near band edge (NBE) emission (I YL/I NBE) for ion implanted samples. The possible reason for this comparability has been proposed.