Effect of dislocations on green electroluminescence efficiency in GaP grown by liquid phase epitaxy

Abstract

The origins of dislocations in GaP grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) and their effects upon green electroluminescence (EL) efficiency have been investigated by chemical etch pitting and scanning electron microscopy. Under normal growth conditions, the dislocation etch pit density (ρD) and configuration in the epitaxial layers are controlled by, and are approximately the same as, that in the liquid encapsulated Czochralski substrate. All dislocations which are revealed by chemical etching in the p LPE layer cause a localized reduction in luminescence. The dislocations are shown to behave as regions of rapid (nonradiative) recombination. Typically, reductions of a factor of ∼2 in green EL efficiency occur when ρD for the LPE layers is in the ∼2–5×105 cm−2 range, corresponding to an average separation of about two to four diffusion lengths in this material. The experimental results are supported by a simple theoretical model for the effects of dislocations on EL efficiency. These considerations explain why dislocations in GaP LPE layers for red light-emitting diodes (LED’s), in contrast to green LED’s, typically have no significant effect on EL efficiency since diffusion lengths are much shorter (≲2 μm) in the red LED’s.