Role of Dislocations in InGaN-Based LEDs and Laser Diodes

Abstract

UV InGaN and GaN single-quantum-well structure light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were grown on epitaxially laterally overgrown (ELOG) and sapphire substrates. When the emission wavelength of UV InGaN LEDs was shorter than 380 nm, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the LED on ELOG was much higher than that on sapphire only at high-current operation. At low-current operation, both LEDs had the same EQE. When the active layer was GaN, EQE of the LED on sapphire was much lower than that on ELOG at both low- and high-current operation due to the lack of localized energy states formed by In composition fluctuations. In order to improve the lifetime of laser diodes (LDs), ELOG had to be used because the operating current density of the LDs is much higher than that of LEDs. A violet InGaN multi-quantum-well GaN/AlGaN separate-confinement-heterostructure LD was grown on ELOG on sapphire. The LDs with cleaved mirror facets shows an output power as high as 40 mW under room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) operation. The stable fundamental transverse mode was observed at an output power of up to 40 mW. The estimated lifetime of the LDs at a constant output power of 10 mW was more than 2,000 hours under CW operation at an ambient temperature of 60°C.