Low efficiency droop in blue-green m-plane InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes

Abstract

We investigated the electroluminescence and relatively external quantum efficiency (EQE) of m-plane InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 480 nm to elucidate the droop behaviors in nitride-based LEDs. With increasing the injection current density to 100 A/cm2, the m-plane LEDs exhibit only 13% efficiency droop, whereas conventional c-plane LEDs suffer from efficiency droop at very low injection current density and the EQE of c-plane LEDs decrease to as little as 50% of its maximum value. Our simulation models show that in m-plane LEDs the absence of polarization fields manifest not only the hole distribution more uniform among the wells but also the reduction in electron overflow out of electron blocking layer. These results suggest that the nonuniform distribution of holes and electron leakage current due to strong polarization fields are responsible for the relatively significant efficiency droop of conventional c-plane LEDs.