GaN-based Light Research Articles

Enhancing the performance of blue GaN-based light emitting diodes with double electron blocking layers

In this work, novel double Electron Blocking Layers for InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells light-emitting diodes were proposed to mitigate the efficiency droop at high current density. The band diagram and carriers distributions were investigated numerically. The results indicate that due to a newly formed holes stack in the p-GaN near the active region, the hole injection has been improved and an uniform carriers distribution can be achieved. As a result, in our new structure with double Electron Blocking Layers, the efficiency droop has been reduced to 15.5 % in comparison with 57.3 % for the LED with AlGaN EBL at the current density of 100 A/cm2.

Effect of wafer bonding and laser liftoff process on residual stress of GaN-based vertical light emitting diode chips

Residual stress conditions in GaN-based LEDs will have a significant influence on device performance and reliability. In this paper, GaN-based vertical LEDs under different stress conditions are fabricated by bonding with three types of submounts (Al2O3 submount, CuW submount and Si submount), changing the soak temperature (290 ℃, 320 ℃, 350 ℃ and 380 ℃) and using different laser energy densities (875, 945 and 1015 mJ·cm-2). The warpage and Raman scattering spectra of those GaN-based LEDs are measured. The experimental results show that the residual stress conditions in GaN-based vertical LEDs are a consequence of the bonded submounts and bonded metal, and the soak temperature is the primary factor that determines the degree of residual stress in LED chips. In the laser lift-off process, changing laser energy density in an appropriate range has little influence on residual strain of LED chips, and the micro-cracks in GaN layer caused by LLO process will play a role in releasing the residual stress. The warpage of epitaxial sapphire substrate becomes large after boding with Si submount, the residual stress in GaN-based vertical LEDs is tensile stress and becomes larger with the soak temperature rising. When GaN epi wafer bonds with Al2O3 submount and CuW submount, the warpages becomes small and large respectively and the residual stress in chips is compressive stress. Because of the mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion, the compressive stress in GaN-based LED chips increases for Al2O3 submount and drops for CuW submount with the soak temperature rising.

Changes of micro zone luminescent properties and stress of GaN-based light emitting diode film grown on patterned silicon substrate, induced by the removal of the substrate and AlN buffer layer

At present, there are mainly two kinds of methods to prevent crack and reduce tensile stress of the silicon substrate GaN based light emitting diode (LED) epitaxial films: one is to use the patterned silicon substrate and the other is to grow a thick AlGaN buffer layer. The two kinds of methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Although the patterned silicon substrate GaN based LED has industrialized and is gradually accepted by the market, there remain many scientific and technical problems, to be resolved, and a lot of research gaps worth studying deeply. Among these problems, to clearly investigate the different micro zone photoluminescence and the stress states in a single-patterned GaN based LED film grown on patterned silicon substrate. The studies of the stress interaction between the buffer layer and the quanturn well layer and the effect on the luminescent properties have important guiding significance for improving the quality and performance of the devices. Different micro zone photoluminescence (PL) properties in single-patterned GaN-based LED films grown on patterned silicon substrates, nondestructive free-standing LED thin film after removing away the silicon substrate, and the free-standing LED films after removing away the AlN buffer layer are studied. The variations of the bending degree of the free-standing LED thin films before and after removing away AlN buffer layer are inverstigated by using fluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results show as follows. 1) After removing away the silicon substrate, the free-standing LED film bends to the substrate direction in a cylindrical bending state. After removing away the AlN buffer layer, the LED film bends into flat. 2) For LED thin films on silicon substrates or off silicon substrates, their PL spectra have significant differences in different micro zones for the same pattern. When the AlN buffer layer is removed from the substrate its PL spectrum tends to be consistent in the different micro zones of the same pattern. When the patterned silicon substrate GaN-based LED thin film is removed from the silicon substrate, the PL spectrum is redshifted in each micro zone. After AlN buffer layer is removed from the substrate, the PL spectra present different degrees of blueshift in each micro zone. 3) The LED films before and after removing away the AlN buffer layer show some differences in droop effect.

Investigating the Effect of Piezoelectric Polarization on GaN-Based LEDs with Different Prestrain Layer by Temperature-Dependent Electroluminescence

The effect of piezoelectric polarization on GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) with different kinds of prestrain layers between the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and n-GaN layer is studied and demonstrated. Compared with the conventional LED, more than 10% enhancement in the output power of the LED with prestrain layer can be attributed to the reduction of polarization field within MQWs region. In this study, we reported a simple method to provide useful comparison of polarization fields within active region in GaN-based LEDs by using temperature-dependent electroluminescence (EL) measurement. The results pointed out that the polarization field of conventional LED was stronger than that of the others due to larger variation of the wavelength transition position (i.e., blue-shift change to red-shift) from 300 to 350 K, and thus the larger polarization field must be effectively screened by injecting more carriers into the MQWs region.

Sol–gel synthesis, structure and luminescence properties of Ba2ZnMoO6:Eu3+ phosphors

Double-perovskite Ba2Zn1−xMoO6:xEu3+ (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1) orange–red emitting phosphors were synthesized by using the sol–gel method. The crystalline structure and photoluminescence properties of the phosphors were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate that the structure of matrix Ba2ZnMoO6 is cubic double-perovskite with space group Fm-3m. The Ba2ZnMoO6:Eu3+ phosphors present an intense broad charge transfer (CT) band absorption in near UV range (370–410nm), which attributes to the charge transfer state of MoO6, and performs orange–red emission of Eu3+ (5D0→7F1 transition) at around 596nm. A low concentration quenching occurs in Ba2ZnMoO6:Eu3+ and the optimal doping concentration is about 6mol%. The Ba2ZnMoO6:Eu3+ phosphors are considered to be a promising orange–red emitting phosphor for near ultraviolet GaN-based white light emitting diode.

The GaN-Based Light Emitting Diode Grown on Nanopattern Sapphire Substrate Prepared by Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching

We applied nanoimprint lithography to fabricate nanopattern sapphire substrate. Because the imprint resin cannot endure the inductively coupled plasma bombardment, we use Ni metal to replace the resin as our etching mask. And then, we tuned the parameters to achieve a depth-enough nanopattern sapphire substrate (200-500-nm thick). Then, light emitting diode (LED) structures were grown and the quality was characterized by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. The LED tester and integrating sphere were used to analyze the device property. The results could demonstrate that the film quality was improved with increasing etching depth. And, the compressive strain was also released with increasing etching depth. In addition, increasing etching depth could not only improve internal quantum efficiency, but also improve light extraction efficiency. Thus, the external quantum efficiency was enhanced. These evidences demonstrated that nanopatterned sapphire with deeper depth certainly enhanced performance of LEDs.

Theoretical and experimental analysis of the effects of the series resistance on luminous efficacy in GaN-based light emitting diodes

In this paper, a new equivalent circuit model of GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) is established. The impact of the series resistance to luminous efficacy is simulated using the MATLAB software. GaN-based LEDs with different n-contact electrode materials (LEDs with Ni/Au and LEDs with Cr/Au) are fabricated. By comparing and analyzing the results of performances, we concluded that both the series resistance and the carrier loss could affect the luminous efficacy severely. LEDs with lower series resistance have higher luminous efficacy and its efficiency droop is alleviated simultaneously. To improve luminous efficacy, the fabrication process should be optimized for lower series resistance.

The influence of random indium alloy fluctuations in indium gallium nitride quantum wells on the device behavior

In this paper, we describe the influence of the intrinsic indium fluctuation in the InGaN quantum wells on the carrier transport, efficiency droop, and emission spectrum in GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). Both real and randomly generated indium fluctuations were used in 3D simulations and compared to quantum wells with a uniform indium distribution. We found that without further hypothesis the simulations of electrical and optical properties in LEDs such as carrier transport, radiative and Auger recombination, and efficiency droop are greatly improved by considering natural nanoscale indium fluctuations.

Theoretical considerations on efficiency degradation due to thermal effect in a planar GaN-based LED with a GaN substrate

In this paper, using a fully-coupled, three-dimensional electro-thermal device simulator, we study the mechanism of efficiency degradation at high current operation in planar GaN-based light emitting diodes (LED). In particular, the improvement of the efficiency degradation using thicker conductive GaN substrates has been demonstrated. First, it is found that local Joule heating inside thin conductive GaN substrates degrades internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and increases the series resistance. Then, we introduced thicker conductive GaN substrates and simulated distributions of the current density and temperature inside the substrate. It is found that the maximum current density inside the GaN substrate decreases by about six times for a 100-µm-thick substrate compared to that for a 5-µm-thick substrate. Therefore, the maximum junction temperature decreases, and then IQE and the driving voltage are improved. The present study proves that thick GaN substrates are effective to improve the properties of planar LEDs at high current operation.

Dome-shaped patterned sapphire substrate with optimized curvature to enhance the efficacy of light emitting diodes

This work has studied the influence of the generatrix's curvature of a dome-shaped patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) on the efficacy of GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). The generatrix's central angle is carefully optimized by optical simulation. It is revealed that the dome-shaped PSS with a generatrix central angle of 10° is optimal to improve the luminous efficacy of LED devices. Subsequent crystal growth and characterization of LED wafers grown on dome-shaped PSSs with different generatrix central angles indicate that the central angle will not influence the as-grown LED wafers' crystalline quality, and the optimal central angle of 10° can enhance LED efficacy by about 19%.

Light extraction enhancement of GaN based light emitting diodes by ZnO nanorod arrays.

This study examined the effects of the alignment of ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) on the light extraction enhancement of GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs), where ZnO NRAs were synthesized hydrothermally. The shape of the ZnO NRAs was controlled using seed layers for flower and vertical structures. Numerical analysis based on the two-dimensional (2D) finite difference of time domain (FDTD) method showed that the extraction efficiency of LED with bare (without ZnO NRA), vertical ZnO NRA and flower shaped ZnO NRA was 37%, 60% and 49%, respectively. The optical output power of the LEDs with vertical ZnO NRA and flower ZnO NRA was improved by 50% and 30% compared to that of the LED without ZnO NRA at an input current of 100 mA. These results suggest that the vertical alignment of ZnO NRA is important for enhancing the light extraction of GaN based LEDs.

Improved internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based light emitting diodes using p-AlGaN trench in multi-quantum well

In this work, a novel structure for GaN-based LED featuring p-AlGaN trench in the MQW is proposed. Through a numerical simulation, it is confirmed that the proposed structure shows much uniform hole distribution in the MQW than that of the conventional structure, because holes are injected efficiently into the MQW along the p-AlGaN trench. We also confirmed that efficiency droop is reduced and the IQE is improved about 12% when 1 A current flows because of the improved hole distribution. In order to optimize the physical parameters of the p-AlGaN trench, the IQE and the operating voltage are analyzed when the width of the p-AlGaN trench and the distance between the p-AlGaN trenches are changed. In addition, a simple fabrication process for manufacturing the proposed structure is also suggested.

Enhanced optical output power by the silver localized surface plasmon coupling through side facets of micro-hole patterned InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes.

Light extraction efficiency of GaN-based light emitting diodes were significantly enhanced using silver nanostructures incorporated in periodic micro-hole patterned multi quantum wells (MQWs). Our results show an enhancement of 60% in the wall-plug efficiency at an injection current of 100 mA when Ag nano-particles were deposited on side facet of MQWs passivated with SiO2. This improvement can be attributed to an increase in the spontaneous emission rate through resonance coupling between localized surface plasmons in Ag nano-particles and the excitons in MQWs.

Polarity dependence of the electrical characteristics of Ag reflectors for high-power GaN-based light emitting diodes

We report on the polarity dependence of the electrical properties of Ag reflectors for high-power GaN-based light-emitting diodes. The (0001) c-plane samples become ohmic after annealing in air. However, the (11–22) semi-polar samples are non-ohmic after annealing, although the 300 °C-annealed sample shows the lowest contact resistivity. The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) results show that the Ga 2p core level for the c-plane samples experiences larger shift toward the valence band than that for the semi-polar samples. The XPS depth profile results show that unlike the c-plane samples, the semi-polar samples contain some amounts of oxygen at the Ag/GaN interface regions. The outdiffusion of Ga atoms is far more significant in the c-plane samples than in the semi-polar samples, whereas the outdiffusion of N atoms is relatively less significant in the c-plane samples. On the basis of the electrical and XPS results, the polarity dependence of the electrical properties is described and discussed

Study on GaN-based light emitting diodes grown on 4-in. Si (111) substrate

GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on 4-in. Si (111) substrate by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition have been systematically characterized. The significantly smooth surface of the sample has been confirmed by an atomic force microscope. In X-ray diffraction measurement, two kinds of fringe peaks were observed, which are believed to originate from the strained-layer superlattice (SLS) and multiple quantum wells. Moreover, from cross-sectional scanning electron microscope images of the sample, it is found that the interfaces of SLS are smooth. The 100-pair AlN/GaN SLS can be employed to modulate the strain between the GaN layer and substrate, resulting in the improvement of GaN crystalline quality. The full width at half maximum of ω-scan of the GaN (0002) diffraction is around 630ʺ. In addition, the device properties have been investigated in detail, and the maximum light output power can reach 2.02mW with a high saturation injection current of 320mA.

Nanopatterned yttrium aluminum garnet phosphor incorporated film for high-brightness GaN-based white light emitting diodes

In this study, we fabricated high-brightness white light emitting diodes (LEDs) by developing a nanopatterned yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) phosphor-incorporated film. White light can be obtained by mixing blue light from a GaN-based LED and yellow light of the YAG phosphor-incorporated film. If white light sources can be fabricated by exciting proper yellow phosphor using blue light, then these sources can be used instead of the conventional fluorescent lamps with a UV source, for backlighting of displays. In this work, a moth-eye structure was formed on the YAG phosphor-incorporated film by direct spin-on glass (SOG) printing. The moth-eye structures have been investigated to improve light transmittance in various optoelectronic devices, including photovoltaic solar cells, light emitting diodes, and displays, because of their anti-reflection property. Direct SOG printing, which is a simple, easy, and relatively inexpensive process, can be used to fabricate nanoscale structures. After direct SOG printing, the moth-eye structure with a diameter of 220nm was formed uniformly on the YAG phosphor-incorporated film. As a result of moth-eye patterning on the YAG phosphor-incorporated film, the light output power of a white LED with a patterned YAG phosphor-incorporated film increased to up to 13% higher than that of a white LED with a non-patterned film.

Effects of InGaN layer thickness of AlGaN/InGaN superlattice electron blocking layer on the overall efficiency and efficiency droops of GaN-based light emitting diodes.

The operating voltage, light output power, and efficiency droops of GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) were improved by introducing Mg-doped AlGaN/InGaN superlattice (SL) electron blocking layer (EBL). The thicker InGaN layers of AlGaN/InGaN SL EBL could have a larger effective electron potential height and lower effective hole potential height than that of AlGaN EBL. This thicker InGaN layer could prevent electron leakage into the p-region of LEDs and improve hole injection efficiency to achieve a higher light output power and less efficiency droops with the injection current. The low lateral resistivity of Mg-doped AlGaN/InGaN SL would have superior current spreading at high current injection.

Selective epitaxial growth of monolithically integrated GaN-based light emitting diodes with AlGaN/GaN driving transistors

In this Letter, we report selective epitaxial growth of monolithically integrated GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) with AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) drivers. A comparison of two integration schemes, selective epitaxial removal (SER), and selective epitaxial growth (SEG) was made. We found the SER resulted in serious degradation of the underlying LEDs in a HEMT-on-LED structure due to damage of the p-GaN surface. The problem was circumvented using the SEG that avoided plasma etching and minimized device degradation. The integrated HEMT-LEDs by SEG exhibited comparable characteristics as unintegrated devices and emitted modulated blue light by gate biasing.

Optical and electrical improvements of semipolar (1 1 −2 2) GaN-based light emitting diodes by Si doping of n-GaN template

We report that the performance of semipolar (11−22) GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was improved by increasing the Si-doping concentration of n-type GaN templates. In-plane and out-of plane high-resolution X-ray diffraction demonstrated that crystal defects such as threading dislocation, partial stacking faults and basal stacking faults, were significantly decreased by increasing the Si-doping concentration. This resulted in the increase of carrier mobility due to reduction of the defect-scattering effect. Furthermore, the quality of InGaN/GaN quantum-well interfaces was improved by increasing the Si-doping concentration of the n-type GaN template. Based on these results, we suggest that the light-output power and operation voltage of semipolar (11−22) GaN-based LEDs would be improved by increasing Si doping concentration of n-type GaN templates.

Enhancement of Light Output Power from LEDs Based on Monolayer Colloidal Crystal

One of the major challenges for the application of GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) in solid-state lighting lies in the low light output power (LOP). Embedding nanostructures in LEDs has attracted considerable interest because they may improve the LOP of GaN-based LEDs efficiently. Recent advances in nanostructures derived from monolayer colloidal crystal (MCC) have made remarkable progress in enhancing the performance of GaN-based LEDs. In this review, the current state of the art in this field is highlighted with an emphasis on the fabrication of ordered nanostructures using large-area, high-quality MCCs and their demonstrated applications in enhancement of LOP from GaN-based LEDs. We describe the remarkable achievements that have improved the internal quantum efficiency, the light extraction efficiency, or both from LEDs by taking advantages of diverse functions that the nanostructures provided. Finally, a perspective on the future development of enhancement of LOP by using the nanostructures derived from MCC is presented.