Optical, spectral and thermal characteristics of GaN-based vertical light emitting diodes on graphite substrate

Abstract

We investigated the optical, spectral and thermal characteristics of GaN-based blue vertical light emitting diodes (VLEDs) on graphite substrate in comparison with conventional lateral LEDs (LLEDs) on sapphire substrate with a mesa size of 1 × 1 mm2. For fabricated VLEDs and LLEDs, the temperature-dependent optical and spectral characteristics were measured in the temperature range of 288–378 K and the junction temperatures (Tj) were experimentally determined by the forward voltage method. From these results, the improved optical property and high thermal stability were achieved by the VLED structure on graphite substrate. At 350 mA, the optical output power of the VLED on graphite substrate was improved by 23% compared to the LLED on sapphire substrate at the temperature of 298 K. Also, the VLED on graphite substrate exhibited lower junction temperature and thermal resistance than those of the LLED on sapphire substrate.