White-light emission from InGaN-GaN multiquantum-welllight-emitting diodes with Si and Zn codoped active well layer

Si and Zn codoped In_xGa_1-xN-GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diode (LED) structures were grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). It was found that we can observe a broad long-wavelength donor-acceptor (D-A) pair related emission at 500 nm~560 nm. White light can thus be achieved by the combination of such a long-wavelength D-A pair emission with the InGaN bandedge related blue emission. It was also found that the electroluminescence (EL) spectra of such Si and Zn codoped InGaN-GaN MQW LEDs are very similar to those measured from phosphor-converted white LEDs. That is, we can achieve white light emission without the use of phosphor by properly adjusting the indium composition and the concentrations of the codoped Si and Zn atoms in the active well layers and the amount of injection current     

Nitride-based green light-emitting diodes with high temperature GaN barrier layers

High-quality InGaN-GaN multiquantum well (MQW) light-emitting diode (LED) structures were prepared by temperature ramping method during metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth. It was found that we could reduce the 20-mA forward voltage and increase the output intensity of the nitride-based green LEDs by increasing the growth temperature of GaN barrier layers from 700/spl deg/C to 950/spl deg/C. The 20-mA output power and maximum output power of the nitride-based green LEDs with high temperature GaN barrier layers was found to be 2.2 and 8.9 mW, respectively, which were more than 65% larger than those observed from conventional InGaN-GaN green LEDs. Such an observation could be attributed to the improved crystal quality of GaN barrier layers. The reliability of these LEDs was also found to be reasonably good.     

Nitride-based near-ultraviolet multiple-quantum well light-emitting diodes with AlGaN barrier layers

The In_0.05Ga_0.95N/GaN, In_0.05Ga_0.95N/Al_0.1Ga_0.9N, and In_0.05Ga_0.95N/Al_0.18Ga_0.82N multiple-quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were prepared by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. (MOCVD). It was found that the 20-mA electroluminescence (EL) intensity of the InGaN/Al_0.1Ga_0.9N MQW LED was two times larger than that of the InGaN/GaN MQW LED. The larger maximum-output intensity and the fact that maximum-output intensity occurred at a larger injection current suggest that Al_0.1Ga_0.9N-barrier layers can provide a better carrier confinement and effectively reduce leakage current. In contrast, the EL intensity of the InGaN/Al_0.18Ga_0.82N MQW LED was smaller because of the relaxation that occurred in the MQW active region of the sample.     

Enhanced output power in an InGaN-GaN multiquantum-welllight-emitting diode with an InGaN current-spreading layer

InGaN-GaN multiple quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with InGaN current-spreading layer were grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) and their characteristics were evaluated by current-voltage (I-V), as well as output power measurements. Experimental results indicate that the LEDs exhibited a higher output power and a lower operation voltage than that of conventional LEDs. The external quantum efficiency of InGaN-GaN MQW LEDs for bare chips operated at injection current of 20 mA with InGaN current spreading layer near 5%. This is two times higher than that of conventional LEDs. This could be tentatively attributed to the better current-spreading effect resulting from Si-doped In_0.18Ga_0.82N wide potential well in which electron states are not quantized     

Improvement of near-ultraviolet InGaN-GaN light-emitting diodes through higher pressure grown underlying GaN layers

The 410-nm near-ultraviolet (near-UV) InGaN-GaN multiple quantum-wells light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with low-pressure-grown (200 mbar) and high-pressure-grown (400 mbar) Si-doped GaN underlying layers were grown on c-face sapphire substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Increasing the growth pressure during the initial growth of the underlying n-type GaN epilayers of the near-UV InGaN-GaN LEDs was found to reduce the amount of threading dislocations that originated from the GaN-sapphire interfaces. The electroluminescence intensity of LEDs with underlying GaN layers grown at a higher pressure was nearly five times larger than that of LED with layers grown at lower pressure. Additionally, two-order reduction of leakage current was also induced for the LEDs grown at a higher pressure.     

Influence of Si-doping on the characteristics of InGaN-GaN multiplequantum-well blue light emitting diodes

A detailed study on the effects of Si-doping in the GaN barrier layers of InGaN-GaN multiquantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has been performed. Compared with unintentionally doped samples, X-ray diffraction results indicate that Si-doping in barrier layers can improve the crystal and interfacial qualities of the InGaN-GaN MQW LEDs. It was also found that the forward voltage is 3.5 and 4.52 V, the 20-mA luminous intensity is 36.1 and 25.1 mcd for LEDs with a Si-doped barrier and an unintentionally doped barrier, respectively. These results suggests that one can significantly improve the performance of InGaN-GaN MQW LEDs by introducing Si doping in the GaN barrier layers     

Enhanced carrier confinement in AlInGaN-InGaN quantum wells in near ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

To increase carrier confinement, the GaN barrier layer was substituted with an AlInGaN quaternary barrier layer which was lattice-matched to GaN in the GaN-InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs). Photoluminescence (PL) and high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the AlInGaN barrier layer has a higher bandgap energy than the originally used GaN barrier layer. The PL intensity of the five periods of AlInGaN-InGaN MQWs was increased by three times compared to that of InGaN-GaN MQWs. The electroluminescence (EL) emission peak of AlInGaN-InGaN MQWs ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV LED) was blue-shifted, compared to a GaN-InGaN MQWs UV LED and the integrated EL intensity of the AlInGaN-InGaN MQWs UV LED increased linearly up to 100 mA. These results indicated that the AlInGaN-InGaN MQWs UV LED has a stronger carrier confinement than a GaN-InGaN MQWs UV LED due to the larger barrier height of the AlInGaN barrier layer compared to a GaN barrier layer.     

Nitride-Based Near-Ultraviolet Mesh MQW Light-Emitting Diodes

We have demonstrated nitride-based near-ultraviolet mesh multiquantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by etching through the MQW active region. With 20-mA injection current, it was found that forward voltages were 3.29, 3.31, and 3.38 V while output powers were 7.5, 9.0, and 11.3 mW for the planar indium-tin-oxide (ITO) LED, mesh ITO LED, and mesh MQW LED, respectively. The larger LED output power is attributed to the increased light extraction efficiency.     

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes with a reflector at the backside of sapphire substrates

Nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a reflector at the backside of the sapphire substrates have been demonstrated. It was found that an SiO₂/TiO₂ distributed-Bragg reflector (DBR) structure could reflect more downward-emitting photons than an Al-mirror layer. It was also found that the 20-mA output power was 2.76 mW, 2.65 mW, and 2.45 mW for the DBR LED, Al-reflector LED, and conventional LED, respectively. With the same 50-mA current injection, the integrated-electroluminescence (EL) intensity of a DBR LED and an Al-reflector LED was 19% and 15% larger than that observed from a conventional LED.     

Performance of InGaN-GaN LEDs fabricated using glue bonding on 50-mm Si substrate

Vertical InGaN-GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) epitaxial films were successfully fabricated on a 50-mm Si substrate using glue bonding and laser liftoff technology. A high-temperature stable organic film, rather than a solder metal, was used as the bonding agent. It was found that the light output of the vertical InGaN LED chip exceeded that of the conventional sapphire-substrate LEDs by about 20% at an injection current of 20 mA. The vertical InGaN LEDs operated at a much higher injection forward current (280 mA) than sapphire-substrate LEDs (180 mA). The radiation pattern of the vertical InGaN LEDs is more symmetrical than that of the sapphire-substrate LEDs. Furthermore, the vertical InGaN LEDs remain highly reliable after 1000 h of testing.     

Nitride-based cascade near white light-emitting diodes

An InGaN-GaN blue light-emitting diode (LED) structure and an InGaN-GaN green LED structure were grown sequentially onto the same sapphire substrate so as to achieve a nitride-based near white LED. In order to avoid thyristor effect, we choose a large 2.1×2.1 mm² LED chip size, which was six times larger than that of the normal LED. It was found that we could observe a near white light emission with Commission International de l'Eclairage color coordinates x=0.2 and y=0.3, when the injection current was lower than 200 mA. It was also found that the output power, luminous efficiency and color temperature of such a cascade near white LED were 4.2 mW, 81 l m/W, and 9000 K, respectively     

Improved Light Output of Nitride-Based Light-Emitting Diodes by Lattice-Matched AlInN Cladding Structure

We report the growth of AlInN nearly lattice-matched to GaN using metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The full-width at half-maximum of the AlInN peak measured by double crystal X-ray diffraction was 219.8 arcsec for the indium content of 20.8%. The effects of AlInN cladding layers on InGaN-GaN multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were also investigated. From the room-temperature photoluminescence spectra, the shorter emission wavelength and the higher intensity were observed after employing AlInN cladding layers. Compared to the conventional LED, the light output intensity of the LED with AlInN cladding layers was increased due to the enhanced carrier confinement. Besides, we found the light output intensity could be saturated at higher injection current. Although the electrical property of the LED with AlInN cladding layers was slightly degraded, the experimental results in this study could explain the potential applicability of AlInN to the fabrication of cladding layers.     

Enhancement of photo- and electro-luminescence of GaN-based LED structure grown on a nanometer-scaled patterned sapphire substrate

In this study, a 2 in. sized a highly periodic nanometer-scaled patterned sapphire substrate (NPSS) was fabricated using nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and inductively coupled plasma etching to improve the light-extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A blue LED structure was grown on the nanometer-scale patterned sapphire substrates, and the photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) were measured to confirm the effectiveness of the nanometer-scaled patterns on sapphire. An improvement in luminescence efficiency was observed when NPSS was applied; 2 times stronger PL intensity and 2.8 times stronger EL intensity than the LED structure grown on the unpatterned sapphire wafers were measured. These results show highly periodic nanometer-scaled patterns create multi-photon scattering and effectively enhance the light-extraction efficiency of LEDs.     

Nano-Processing Techniques Applied in GaN-Based Light-Emitting Devices With Self-Assembly Ni Nano-Masks

We have developed a simple method to fabricate nanoscale masks by using self-assembly Ni clusters formed through a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process. The density and dimensions of the Ni nano-masks could be precisely controlled. The nano-masks were successfully applied to GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with nano-roughened surface, GaN nanorods, and GaN-based nanorod LEDs to enhance light output power or change structure properties. The GaN-based LED with nano-roughened surface by Ni nano-masks and excimer laser etching has increased 55% light output at 20 mA when compared to that without the nano-roughened process. The GaN nanorods fabricated by the Ni nano-masks and ICP-RIE dry etching showed 3.5 times over the as-grown sample in photoluminescence (PL) intensity. The GaN-based nanorod LEDs assisted by photo-enhanced chemical (PEC) wet oxidation process were also demonstrated. The electroluminescence (EL) intensity of the GaN-based nanorod LED with PEC was about 1.76 times that of the as-grown LED. The fabrication, structure properties, physical features, and the optical and electrical properties of the fabricated devices will be discussed.     

AlGaN中Mg掺杂对蓝光发光二极管光电性质的影响

采用金属有机化学气相沉积技术生长了GaN基多量子阱(MQW)蓝光发光二极管外延片,并采用高分辨率X射线衍射仪(HRXRD)和光致光谱仪(PL)表征晶体质量和光学性能,其他的光电性能由制成芯片后测试获得,目的是研究外延片p型AlGaN电子阻挡层Mg掺杂的优化条件.结果表明,在生长p型AlGaN电子阻挡层的Cp2Mg流量为300 cm3/min时,蓝光发光二极管获得最小正向电压VF,而且在此掺杂流量下的多量子阱蓝光发光二极管芯片发光强度明显高于其他流量的样品.因此可以通过优化AlGaN电子阻挡层的掺杂浓度,来显著提高多量子阱蓝光发光二极管的电学性能和光学性能.     

GaN基微米LED大注入条件下发光特性研究

利用变注入强度的电致发光(EL)测试和数值模拟方法研究了微米LED大注入条件下的发光特性。EL测试结果显示,微米LED(10μm)在工作电流密度高达16kA/cm2时光功率密度输出未饱和,同时不存在明显的由于自热效应引起的发光波长红移。和300μm LED相比,相同注入水平下,10μm LED的EL峰值波长相对蓝移,表明微米LED中存在应力弛豫,10μmLED相对300μm LED应力弛豫大了约23%。APYSY模拟发现,由于应力弛豫和良好的电流扩展,微米LED中电流分布和载流子浓度更加均匀,这种均匀的分布使得微米LED具有高的发光效率,同时能够承受高的电流密度。     

InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well green light-emitting diodes prepared by temperature ramping

High-quality InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diode (LED) structures were prepared by a temperature-ramping method during metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth. Two photoluminescence (PL) peaks, one originating from well-sensitive emission and one originating from an InGaN quasi-wetting layer on the GaN-barrier surface, were observed at room temperature (RT). The observation of high-order double-crystal x-ray diffraction (DCXRD) satellite peaks indicates that the interfaces between InGaN-well layers and GaN-barrier layers were not degraded as we increased the growth temperature of the GaN-barrier layers. With a 20-mA and 160-mA current injection, it was found that the output power could reach 2.2 mW and 8.9 mW, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that the reliability of the fabricated green LEDs prepared by temperature ramping was also reasonably good.     

Temperature-dependent electroluminescence in InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes

We present a comparative study on temperature dependence of electroluminescence (EL) of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with identical structure but different indium contents in the active region. For the ultraviolet (UV) and blue LEDs, the EL intensity decreases dramatically with decreasing temperature after reaching a maximum at 150 K. The peak energy exhibits a large redshift in the range of 20–50 meV with a decrease of temperature from 200 K to 70 K, accompanying the appearance of longitudinal-optical (LO) phonon replicas broadening the low energy side of the EL spectra. This redshift is explained by carrier relaxation into lower energy states, leading to dominant radiative recombination at localized states. In contrast, the peak energy of the green LED exhibits a minimal temperature-induced shift, and the emission intensity increases monotonically with decreasing temperature down to 5 K. We attribute the different temperature dependences of the EL to different degrees of the localization effects in the MQW regions of the LEDs.     

Inserting a low-temperature n-GaN underlying layer to separate nonradiative recombination centers improves the luminescence efficiency of blue InGaN/GaN LEDs

We have investigated the effects of nonradiative recombination centers (NRCs) on the device performance of InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) inserting low-temperature n-GaN (LT-GaN) underlying layers. Inserting an LT-GaN underlying layer prior to growing the MQWs is a successful means of separating the induced nonradiative recombination centers because a growth interrupt interface exists between the n-GaN template and the InGaN QW. We found that by introducing this technique would improve the external quantum efficiency of the as-grown conventional LEDs. The electroluminescence relative intensity of a blue LED incorporating a 70-nm-thick LT-GaN was 20.6% higher (at 20 mA current injection) than that of the corresponding as-grown blue LED in the best case.     

GaN-based light emitting diodes on nano-hole patterned sapphire substrate prepared by three-beam laser interference lithography

Nano-hole patterned sapphire substrates (NHPSSs) were successfully prepared using a low-cost and high-efficiency approach, which is the laser interference lithography (LIL) combined with reactive ion etching (RIE) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques. Gallium nitride (GaN)-based light emitting diode (LED) structure was grown on NHPSS by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Photoluminescence (PL) measurement was conducted to compare the luminescence efficiency of the GaN-based LED structure grown on NHPSS (NHPSS-LED) and that on unpatterned sapphire substrates (UPSS-LED). Electroluminescence (EL) measurement shows that the output power of NHPSS-LED is 2.3 times as high as that of UPSS-LED with an injection current of 150 mA. Both PL and EL results imply that NHPSS has an advantage in improving the crystalline quality of GaN epilayer and light extraction efficiency of LEDs at the same time.