Improvement In Light Output Power Research Articles

Improvement of light extraction efficiency in AlGaInP-based vertical miniaturized-light-emitting diodes via surface texturing.

AlGaInP-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) suffer from a low external quantum efficiency (EQE), which is mainly restrained by the poor light extraction efficiency. Here, we demonstrate AlGaInP-based vertical miniaturized-LEDs (mini-LEDs) with a porous n-AlGaInP surface using a wet etching process to boost light extraction. We investigated the effects of etching time on the surface morphology of the porous n-AlGaInP surface. We found that as the etching time is prolonged, the density of pores increases initially and decreases subsequently. In comparison with the vertical mini-LED with a smooth n-AlGaInP surface, the vertical mini-LEDs with the porous n-AlGaInP surface reveal improvement in light output power and EQE, meanwhile, without the deterioration of electrical performance. The highest improvement of 38.9% in EQE measured at 20 mA is observed from the vertical mini-LED with the maximum density of the pores. Utilizing a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method, we reveal the underlying mechanisms of improved performance, which are associated with suppressed total internal reflection and efficient light scattering effect of the pores.

Numerical Analysis of the ZnGeN2 Layer Effect on InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Well Light-Emitting Diodes

This paper discusses the effect of a ZnGeN2 layer inserted into the wells of Type-I InGaN/GaN QWs LEDs on the electrical and optical properties by using the Silvaco TCAD Simulator. First, the new structure is compared to the standard type-I LED based on InGaN. We found that using ZnGeN2 layer in the In0.2Ga0.8N-QWs LED leads to wavelength extending from the blue to the red region. Next, we highlighted the effect of quantum well number and In-molar fraction in the wells of InxGa1-xN/ZnGeN2 type-II LEDs. As a result, increasing the number of wells from two to six QWs creates an extension of spontaneous emissions while keeping a low concentration of indium in the wells (x = 0.16) and improving the electrical and optical properties, as we found an improvement in light output power of 10.7% at 40Acm-2.

Ni-Cu Nanoparticles-Embedded Ag-Based Reflector for High-Efficiency Light-Emitting Diodes.

We investigated the use of a silver reflector embedded with Ni-Cu nanoparticles to achieve low resistance and high reflectivity in GaN-based flip-chip light-emitting diodes. Compared to a single layer of Ag, the NC-NPs/Ag reflector exhibits a higher light reflectance of ~90% at a wavelength of 450 nm, a lower contact resistance of 4.75 × 10-5 II cm², and improved thermal stability after annealing at 400°C. The NC-NPs formed after the annealing process prevents agglomeration of the Ag layer, while also reducing the Schottky barrier height between the p-GaN layer and metal reflector. The LED fabricated with a NC-NPs/Ag reflector exhibited a forward-bias voltage of 3.13 V and an improvement in light output power of 36.6% (at 20 mA), when compared with the LED composed of a Ag SL. This result indicates that the NC-NPs/Ag reflector is a promising p-type reflector for high-intensity light-emitting diodes.

Enhancing the light extraction of AlGaN-based vertical type deep-ultraviolet light-emitting-diodes with an internal reflector

AlGaN-based UV-C vertical LEDs comprising Ga-face n-contact and an internal reflector are reported here. Inside the chip, the internal reflector is designed as a hexagonal shape surrounding a circular n-electrode. The use of SiO2/Al reflectors on the etched plane improves the local reflectivity. Forming the internal reflector has been shown to lead to a significant improvement in light output power (LOP). The LOP of the vertical LED with an internal reflector is 1.27 times higher than that of the vertical LED without an internal reflector.

Deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on a well-ordered AlGaN nanorod array

The nanorod structure is an alternative scheme to develop high-efficiency deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs). In this paper, we first report the electrically injected 274-nm AlGaN nanorod array DUV LEDs fabricated by the nanosphere lithography and dry-etching technique. Nanorod DUV LED devices with good electrical properties are successfully realized. Compared to planar DUV LEDs, nanorod DUV LEDs present >2.5 times improvement in light output power and external quantum efficiency. The internal quantum efficiency of nanorod LEDs increases by 1.2 times due to the transformation of carriers from the exciton to the free electron–hole, possibly driven by the interface state effect of the nanorod sidewall surface. In addition, the nanorod array significantly facilitates photons escaping from the interior of LEDs along the vertical direction, contributing to improved light extraction efficiency. A three-dimensional finite-different time-domain simulation is performed to analyze further in detail the TE- and TM-polarized photon extraction mechanisms of the nanostructure. Our results demonstrate the nanorod structure is a good candidate for high-efficiency DUV emitters.

Improved Light Output Power of Ultraviolet GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diode by Using AgPdCu Reflector

We investigated the output performance of UV LEDs with Ag-Pd-Cu (APC) and Ag-only reflectors. After annealing at 600°C, the Ag-only layer surface was seriously roughened, while the APC sample revealed a smooth surface with hillocks. The 600 °C-annealed APC and Ag samples gave reflectance of 84.9% and 70.9%at 385 nm. The contact resistivities of the Ag and APC contacts annealed at 500 °C were measured to be 2.59×10– 4 and 1.85×10– 4 Ωcm2, respectively. For the annealed APC sample, the Ga 2p core level was shifted towards the lower binding-energies by 0.67 eV as compared to that of the as-deposited sample. The UV LEDs with the annealed APC reflector yielded 9.04% higher output at 100 mA than those with the Ag reflector. Based on the XRD pole figure and SEM results, the better thermal property of the APC sample is described in terms of thermal stress and surface energy.

Revealing the Role of Sidewall Orientation in Wet Chemical Etching of GaN-Based Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes.

We demonstrated that the tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution possesses different etching abilities to the chip sidewalls with different orientations because the orientation of chip sidewall determines the exposed crystallographic plane of gallium nitride (GaN) and these crystallographic planes are with different chemical stability to the TMAH solution. After TMAH etching treatment, trigonal prisms were observed on sidewalls where m-plane GaN was exposed. For the investigated two types of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with orthogonal arrangements, the LEDs with their larger sidewalls orientated along the [11–20] direction exhibited an additional 10% improvement in light output power after TMAH etching treatment compared to the LEDs with larger sidewalls orientated along the [1–100] direction.

Efficient performance enhancement of GaN-based vertical light-emitting diodes coated with N-doped graphene quantum dots

Novel vertical light-emitting diodes (VLEDs) decorated with N-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) have been fabricated, based on the metal organic chemical vapor deposition method (MOCVD), wafer bonding technique, laser lift-off (LLO) technique, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching and impregnation processing. There is an obvious luminescence enhancement and resistance reduction for VLEDs after coating N-GQDs. The results show an improvement of light output power (LOP), dependent on the improvement of optical extraction efficiency and current spreading. The improvement of external quantum efficiency (EQE) is mainly owing to the roughened surfaces. Meanwhile, an enhancement of electroluminescence (EL) intensity and photoluminescence (PL) intensity has been achieved when the VLEDs were immersed in 0.9 mg/mL of N-GQDs solution, 4 times that of bare VLEDs. After coating N-GQDs, the performance of VLEDs is greatly improved, which could be attributed to the photons recovered by extracting light from waveguide modes.

Improved Light Output Power of 16 × 16 Pixelated Micro‐LEDs for Headlights by Enhancing the Reflectivity and Coverage of the p‐Electrode (Phys. Status Solidi A 10∕2018)

Improved Light Output Power of 16 × 16 Pixelated Micro‐LEDs for Headlights by Enhancing the Reflectivity and Coverage of the <i>p</i>‐Electrode (Phys. Status Solidi A 10∕2018)

High efficiency ultraviolet GaN-based vertical light emitting diodes on 6-inch sapphire substrate using ex-situ sputtered AlN nucleation layer.

We demonstrated the growth of crack-free high-quality GaN-based UV vertical LEDs (VLEDs) (λ = 365 nm) on 6-inch sapphire substrates by using an ex-situ sputtered AlN nucleation layer (NL) and compared their performance with that of UV VLEDs with an in situ low temperature (LT) AlGaN NL. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the ex-situ AlN sample contained lower densities of screw-type and edge-type threading dislocations than the in situ AlGaN NL sample. The micro-Raman results revealed that the ex-situ AlN sample was under more compressive stress than the in situ AlGaN sample. As the current was increased, the electroluminescence peaks of both of the samples blue-shifted, reached a minimum wavelength at 1000 mA, and then slightly red-shifted. Packaged VLEDs with the ex-situ AlN NL yielded 6.5% higher light output power at 500 mA than that with the in situ AlGaN NL. The maximum EQEs of the VLED with the in situ AlGaN and ex-situ AlN NLs were 43.7% and 48.2%, respectively. Based on the XRD and Raman results, the improved light output power of the ex-situ AlN sample is attributed to the lower density of TDs.

Improved Light Output Power of 16 × 16 Pixelated Micro‐LEDs for Headlights by Enhancing the Reflectivity and Coverage of the p‐Electrode

A pixel array of micro‐light emitting diodes (µ‐LEDs) based on a flip‐chip structure and driven by a passive matrix is fabricated. The array is fabricated through multi‐level metallization using a photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) inter‐metal dielectric (IMD) layer. The device consisted of 256 pixels in a 2 × 2 mm2 array (the individual pixel area is 115 × 115 µm2). This device facilitates the control of individual µ‐LEDs in the array. To investigate the effect of reflectivity and coverage to p‐GaN on mesa area of p‐type electrode, controlled and uncontrolled µ‐LED arrays is fabricated with different reflectivity and coverage of the p‐type electrode. The results show that the devices has similar electrical properties. The light output power and maximum electroluminescence intensity of the controlled µ‐LED array is improved by 3.7 and 5.1 times at injection currents of 100 and 60 mA compared to the uncontrolled µ‐LED array, respectively. The variation of dark spaces in several emission images (total 9 pixels) is investigated as a function of the pixel pitch for the controlled µ‐LED array at an injection current of 20 mA. The results shows that the dark space between pixels almost disappears at a pixel pitch of 125 µm.

Enhanced Output Power of Light-Emitting Diodes With Embedded Air-Gap Photonic Crystals by Nanosphere Lithography

Large-scale two-dimensional air-gap photonic crystals (PhCs) were embedded in an n-type GaN layer to enhance the light emission of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The embedded-PhCs were obtained through overgrowth on n-GaN templates, which had air holes array previously fabricated by using nanosphere lithography technology. The effects of the distance D from active region to PhCs on the light extraction efficiency (LEE) of LEDs are investigated by experiments and finite difference-time domain simulation. The PhC LEDs with D = 2370 nm showed an improved light output power by 80.8% on average at forward current of 350 mA without degradation of electrical performance compared to conventional LEDs. It is mainly attributed to the improved LEE by enhancing the interaction of the guided modes and the embedded air-gap PhCs.

Improved Light Output Power of InGaN/GaN LED by Using Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Deposited MgO

This paper presents an MgO thin films deposited by an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition method to serve as passivation and antireflection layers of the InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The electrical, electroluminescence (EL), and efficiency characteristics of the LEDs with 60-, 70-, and 80-nm MgO films are investigated. It is found that the LEDs with the MgO films have lower reverse currents and higher shunt resistance than that without an MgO film. However, there are no significant differences of the forward voltage at 350 mA and the series resistance between the LEDs with and without the MgO films. The significant differences between the LEDs with and without the MgO films are the light output power (LOP) and efficiency. The LED with 70-nm MgO film has the highest LOP of 556 mW (at 700 mA) and external quantum efficiency of 40.8% (at 30 mA). Further, the LED chips with the MgO films show better LOP and wall plug efficiency than those with the SiO2 and SiN x films. It is also found that the LED chips with MgO film as a passivation layer shows stable electrical and EL characteristics in the aging time test.

Improved light output power of GaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diode using a mesh-type GaN/SiO2 /Al omnidirectional reflector

We investigated the effect of a mesh-type GaN/SiO2/Al omnidirectional reflector (ODR) on the light output power of AlGaN/InGaN-based ultraviolet (365 nm) LEDs and compared their performance with that of LEDs with a GaN/ITO/Al reflector. Using the scattering matrix method, the normal incidence reflectance was calculated to be 93.7% for the GaN/SiO2 (62 nm)/Al ODR and 79% for the GaN/ITO (30 nm)/Al reflector. The Ag/Ni/Al/Ni (52 nm/10 nm/200 nm/20 nm) contact showed a specific contact resistance of 3.2 × 10−5 Ω cm2 after annealing at 500 °C for 1 min. The forward-bias voltages at 20 mA of LEDs with ODR were in the range of 3.49–3.54 V, which were similar to that of LEDs with an ITO/Al reflector (3.51 V). The LEDs with ODR had series resistances in the range of 14.8–12.5 Ω, whereas the LED with an ITO/Al reflector showed 11.7 Ω. The LEDs with ODR yielded 9.3–19.9% higher light output power at 20 mA than the LED with an ITO/Al reflector. The improved light output power was attributed to the optimization of the high reflectance of the ODR (reflective area) and contact area.

On the role of diluted magnetic cobalt-doped ZnO electrodes in efficiency improvement of InGaN light emitters

The 120-nm-thick cobalt-doped ZnO (Co-doped ZnO, CZO) dilute magnetic films deposited by pulsed laser deposition were employed as the n-electrodes for both lateral-type blue (450 nm) and green (520 nm) InGaN light emitters. In comparison to the conventional blue and green emitters, there were 15.9% and 17.7% enhancements in the output power (@350 mA) after fabricating the CZO n-electrode on the n-GaN layer. Observations on the role of CZO n-electrodes in efficiency improvement of InGaN light emitters were performed. Based on the results of Hall measurements, the carrier mobilities were 176 and 141 cm2/V s when the electrons passed through the n-GaN and the patterned-CZO/n-GaN, respectively. By incorporating the CZO n-electrode into the InGaN light emitters, the electrons would be scattered because of the collisions between the magnetic atoms and the electrons as the device is driven, leading to the reduction of the electron mobility. Therefore, the excessively large mobility difference between electron and hole carriers occurred in the conventional InGaN light emitter can be efficiently decreased after preparing the CZO n-electrode on the n-GaN layer, resulting in the increment of carrier recombination rate and the improvement of light output power.

Theoretical analysis and experiment of subwavelength structure-integrated red AlGaInP light-emitting diodes for uniform field distribution and enhanced light extraction efficiency

We report theoretical and experimental analysis of antireflective subwavelength structures (SWSs) on GaP substrates to enhance the light output with a uniform light distribution of AlGaInP-based red light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Scaling issues on the optical performance are analyzed by the calculation results from finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) methods. The optical simulation reveals that SWSs with a period of 100–150 nm achieve highest optical output power, while maintaining a uniform light field distribution, in the subwavelength regime. To validate our theoretical results, disordered SWSs with a tapered shape were fabricated on a GaP layer of AlGaInP red LEDs by lithography-free dry etching of Ag nanoparticles. The SWS-integrated LED shows a uniform light output distribution with an improved light output power compared with the conventional LED.

Ni-assisted Fabrication of GaN Based Surface Nano-textured Light Emitting Diodes for Improved Light Output Power

Light enhancement of GaN based light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been investigated by texturing the top p-GaN surface. Nano-textured LEDs have been fabricated using self-assembled Ni nano mask during dry etching process. Experimental results were further compared with simulation data. Three types of LEDs were fabricated: Conventional (planar LED), Surface nano-porous (porous LED) and Surface nano-cluster (cluster LED). Compared to planar LED there were about 100% and 54% enhancement of light output power for porous and cluster LED respectively at an injection current of 20 mA. Moreover, simulation result showed consistency with experimental result. The increased probability of light scattering at the nano-textured GaN-air interface is the major reason for increasing the light extraction efficiency.

Inverted tetrahedron-pyramidal micropatterned polymer films for boosting light output power in flip-chip light-emitting diodes.

We report the improved light output power in gallium nitride-based green flip-chip light-emitting diodes (FCLEDs) employed with inverted tetrahedron-pyramidal micropatterned polydimethylsiloxane (ITPM PDMS) films as an encapsulation and protection layer. The micropatterns are transferred into the surface of PDMS films from the sapphire substrate master molds with two-dimensional periodic hexagonal TPM arrays by a soft imprint lithography method. The ITPM PDMS film laminated on the sapphire dramatically enhances the diffuse transmittance (T(D)) in a wavelength (λ) range of 400-650 nm, exhibiting the larger T(D) value of ~53% at λ = 525 nm, (cf., T(D) ~1% for planar sapphire). By introducing the ITPM PDMS film on the outer surface of sapphire in FCLEDs, the light output power is enhanced, indicating the increment percentage of ~11.1% at 500 mA of injection current compared to the reference FCLED without the ITPM PDMS film, together with better electroluminescence intensity and far-field radiation pattern.

Improvement of light extraction efficiency in InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting diodes with a nano-roughened p-GaN surface

The following paper presents a study on the performance of InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a nano-roughened p-GaN surface, which were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. This nano-roughened p-GaN surface was obtained by using nitrogen (N2) as cyclopentadienyl magnesium (Cp2Mg) carrier gas during the growth of p-GaN layer. Research results show that the surface roughness of p-GaN layer is influenced by the injection flow of N2 and the injection time of N2. Under the optimal process condition, the light output power of LED with a nano-roughened p-GaN surface is improved by 30.4 % compared with that of conventional LED with an injection current of 20 mA. Meanwhile, current–voltage curve shows that the electrical performance of this sample is similar to that of conventional LED. The improvement of light output power is mainly attributed to the higher light extraction efficiency when nano-roughened p-GaN surface is adopted.

Performance enhancement of GaN-based flip-chip ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with a RPD AlN nucleation layer on patterned sapphire substrate

In this work, flip-chip ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (FCUV-LEDs) on patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) at 375 nm were grown by an atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (AP-MOCVD). A specialized reactive plasma deposited (RPD) AlN nucleation layer was utilized on the PSS to enhance the quality of the epitaxial layer. By using high-resolution X-ray diffraction, the full-width at half-maximum of the rocking curve shows that the FCUV-LEDs with RPD AlN nucleation layer had better crystalline quality when compared to conventional GaN nucleation samples. From the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image, it can be observed that the tip and incline portion of the pattern was smooth using the RPD AlN nucleation layer. The threading dislocation densities (TDDs) are reduced from 7 × 107 cm−2 to 2.5 × 107 cm−2 at the interface between the u-GaN layers for conventional and AlN PSS devices, respectively. As a result, a much higher light output power was achieved. The improvement of light output power at an injection current of 20 mA was enhanced by 30%. Further photoluminescence measurement and numerical simulation confirm such increase of output power can be attributed to the improvement of material quality and light extraction.