III-nitride monolithic LED covering full RGB color gamut

Abstract

We present numerical simulation of III-nitride monolithic multi-color LED covering full red-green-blue (RGB) color gamut. The RGB LED structure was grown at Ostendo Technologies Inc. and has been used in Ostendo proprietary Quantum Photonic Imager (QPI) device. Active region of our RGB LED incorporates specially designed intermediate carrier blocking layers (ICBLs) controlling transport of each type of carriers and subsequent carrier injection redistribution among the optically active quantum wells (QWs) with different emission wavelengths. ICBLs are proved to be essential elements of multi-color LED active region design requiring optimization both in material composition and doping level. Strong interdependence between ICBL parameters and active QW characteristics presents additional challenge to multi-color LED design. Combination of several effects was crucial for adequate simulation of RGB LED color control features. Standard drift-diffusion transport model has been appended with rate equations for dynamic QW-confined carrier populations which appear severely off-balanced from corresponding mobile carrier subsystems. QW overshoot and Auger-assisted QW depopulation were also included into the carrier kinetic model thus enhancing the non-equilibrium character of QW confined populations and supporting the mobile carrier transport across the MQW active region. For device simulation we use COMSOL-based program suit developed at Ostendo Technologies Inc.