Effects of the Use of an Aluminum Reflecting and an ${\rm SiO}_{2}$ Insulating Layers (RIL) on the Performance of a GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diode With the Naturally Textured p-GaN Surface

Abstract

A GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) with an aluminum (Al) reflecting and an SiO2 insulating layers (RILs) deposited on the naturally textured p-GaN surface is fabricated and studied. The use of RIL could enhance the current spreading performance and reduce the photon absorption by the p-pad metal. The textured surface is used to limit the total internal reflection and increase photon scattering. In this paper, effects of the use of an Al RL and/or an SiO2 insulating layer on the performance of GaN-based LEDs are systematically studied and compared in detail. At 20 mA, as compared with a conventional LED with naturally textured (planar) p-GaN surface, the studied device exhibits 12.2% (55.5%) enhancement in light output power. Additionally, a 28.5% (95%) increment of luminous flux is achieved. The studied device also shows 15.6% light intensity improvement of far-filed pattern. Experimentally, although power consumption and junction temperature are slightly increased because of the insertion of RIL structure, these drawbacks could be surpassed by the mentioned optical improvements. Therefore, for conventional GaN-based LEDs, light extraction efficiency could be further improved by the employment of RIL structure.