A novel usage of hydrogen treatment to improve the indium incorporation and internal quantum efficiency of green InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells simultaneously

Abstract

The challenge for improving the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of InGaN-based light emitting diodes (LED) in the green light range is referred to as the ‘green gap’. However the IQE of InGaN-based LEDs often drops when the emission peak wavelength is adjusted through reducing the growth temperature. Although hydrogen (H2) can improve surface morphology, it reduces the indium incorporation significantly. Here, a novel usage of H2 treatment on the GaN barrier before the InGaN quantum well is demonstrated to enhance indium incorporation efficiency and improve the IQE simultaneously for the first time. The mechanism behind it is systematically investigated and explained in detail. The possible reason for this phenomenon is the strain relieving function by the undulant GaN barrier surface after H2 treatment. Test measurements show that applying 0.2 min H2 treatment on the barrier would reduce defects and enhance indium incorporation, which would improve the localization effect and finally lead to a higher IQE. Although further increasing the treatment time to 0.4 min incorporates more indium atoms, the IQE decreases at the expense of more defects and a larger polarization field than the 0.2 min sample.