P-type AlGaN Electron Blocking Layer Research Articles

Increasing the hole energy by grading the alloy composition of the p-type electron blocking layer for very high-performance deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

It is well known that the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (p-EBL) can block hole injection for deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs). The polarization induced electric field in the p-EBL for [0001] oriented DUV LEDs makes the holes less mobile and thus further decreases the hole injection capability. Fortunately, enhanced hole injection is doable by making holes lose less energy, and this is enabled by a specifically designed p-EBL structure that has a graded AlN composition. The proposed p-EBL can screen the polarization induced electric field in the p-EBL. As a result, holes will lose less energy after going through the proposed p-EBL, which correspondingly leads to the enhanced hole injection. Thus, an external quantum efficiency of 7.6% for the 275 nm DUV LED structure is obtained.

Quantum Efficiency Enhancement of a GaN-Based Green Light-Emitting Diode by a Graded Indium Composition p-Type InGaN Layer.

We propose a graded indium composition p-type InGaN (p-InGaN) conduction layer to replace the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer and a p-GaN layer in order to enhance the light output power of a GaN-based green light-emitting diode (LED). The indium composition of the p-InGaN layer decreased from 10.4% to 0% along the growth direction. The light intensity of the LED with a graded indium composition p-InGaN layer is 13.7% higher than that of conventional LEDs according to the experimental result. The calculated data further confirmed that the graded indium composition p-InGaN layer can effectively improve the light power of green LEDs. According to the simulation, the increase in light output power of green LEDs with a graded indium composition p-InGaN layer was mainly attributed to the enhancement of hole injection and the improvement of the radiative recombination rate.

Simulation and fabrication of N-polar GaN-based blue-green light-emitting diodes with p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer

N-polar GaN-based blue-green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with p-AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) were numerically investigated by simulation and experimentally grown on vicinal C-face SiC substrates by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition. By numerical simulation, we can find that p-AlGaN EBL in N-polar LEDs is able to play a more important role in blocking electron overflow than that in Ga-polar LEDs due to the reversed polarization, which leads to a high output power and internal quantum efficiency. Besides, the holes injection efficiency is enhanced in N-polar LED, resulting in a lower turn-on voltage. In experimental studies, N-polar LEDs based on different numbers of quantum wells were grown on vicinal C-face n-SiC substrates. When a forward bias is applied to the epitaxial N-polar LED with two quantum wells, a strong blue-green emission located at 480 nm can be observed. This work indicates that N-polar group-III nitrides have great potential in the application of optoelectronic devices.

A hole accelerator for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

The quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has been significantly limited by the insufficient hole injection, and this is caused by the inefficient p-type doping and the low hole mobility. The low hole mobility makes the holes less energetic, which hinders the hole injection into the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) especially when a p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is adopted. In this work, we report a hole accelerator to accelerate the holes so that the holes can obtain adequate kinetic energy, travel across the p-type EBL, and then enter the MQWs more efficiently and smoothly. In addition to the numerical study, the effectiveness of the hole accelerator is experimentally shown through achieving improved optical output power and reduced efficiency droop for the proposed InGaN/GaN LED.

Polarization self-screening in [0001] oriented InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes for improving the electron injection efficiency

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown along the [0001] orientation inherit very strong polarization induced electric fields. This results in a reduced effective conduction band barrier height for the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) and makes the electron blocking effect relatively ineffective and the electron injection efficiency drops. Here, we show the concept of polarization self-screening for improving the electron injection efficiency. In this work, the proposed polarization self-screening effect was studied and proven through growing a p-type EBL with AlN composition partially graded along the [0001] orientation, which induces the bulk polarization charges. These bulk polarization charges are utilized to effectively self-screen the positive polarization induced interface charges located at the interface between the EBL and the last quantum barrier when designed properly. Using this approach, the electron leakage is suppressed and the LED performance is enhanced significantly.

Improving hole injection efficiency by manipulating the hole transport mechanism through p-type electron blocking layer engineering.

The p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is widely used in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for electron overflow suppression. However, a typical EBL also reduces the hole injection efficiency, because holes have to climb over the energy barrier generated at the p-AlGaN/p-GaN interface before entering the quantum wells. In this work, to address this problem, we report the enhancement of hole injection efficiency by manipulating the hole transport mechanism through insertion of a thin GaN layer of 1nm into the p-AlGaN EBL and propose an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN-type EBL outperforming conventional AlGaN EBLs. Here, the position of the inserted thin GaN layer relative to the p-GaN region is found to be the key to enhancing the hole injection efficiency. InGaN/GaN LEDs with the proposed p-type AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN EBL have demonstrated substantially higher optical output power and external quantum efficiency.

Effect of Polarization-Matched n-Type AlGaInN Electron-Blocking Layer on the Optoelectronic Properties of Blue InGaN Light-Emitting Diodes

A design approach is proposed to improve the performances of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at high current by using of the polarization-matched n-type AlGaInN electron-blocking layer (EBL) instead of conventional EBLs, owing to the more uniform carrier distribution across the multiply quantum well (MQW) active regions. And the response parameters of the blue InGaN LEDs, such as the radiative recombination rate, the internal quantum efficiency and output power, are calculated by the advanced physical model of semiconductor devices (APSYS) software. The simulation results reveal that the total power and the radiative recombination rates of the blue InGaN LEDs with the n-type AlGaInN EBL have been greatly promoted, and their efficiency droop has also been evidently moderated, compared with that of the LEDs with three types of EBL which are p-type AlGaN EBL, p-type AlGaInN EBL and n-type AlGaN EBL.

Effect of p-AlxGa1−xN electron blocking layer on optical and electrical properties in GaN-based light emitting diodes

The authors investigated the effect of p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) on the optical and the electrical properties of GaN-based blue light-emitting diodes. 405- and 325-nm photoluminescence (PL) analyses showed the maximum intensities from 18% and 12% p-AlGaN EBL, respectively. Both PL methods would make a clear distinction between the optical qualities of InGaN well and the carrier transport from n-/p-type layers to active layer. From electroluminescence (EL) measurement, it found that the highest EL intensity was obtained at 12% p-AlGaN EBL, which was consistent with the result of 325-nm PL. From these results, the authors concluded that the 12% p-AlGaN EBL would effectively suppress the carrier overflow and that the problem for carrier transport was dominant at a higher than 18% Al in p-AlGaN EBL by measuring 325-nm PL and the photogenerated current.

Improved color rendering of phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes with dual-blue active layers and n-type AlGaN layer

An InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diode (LED) structure and an InGaN/GaN blue-violet LED structure were grown sequentially on the same sapphire substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. It was found that the insertion of an n-type AlGaN layer below the dual blue-emitting active layers showed better spectral stability at the different driving current relative to the traditional p-type AlGaN electron-blocking layer. In addition, color rendering index of a Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ phosphor-converted white LED based on a dual blue-emitting chip with n-type AlGaN reached 91 at 20 mA, and Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates almost remained at the same point from 5 to 60 mA.

Effect of an asymmetry n-AlGaN layer on performance of dual-blue wavelength light-emitting diodes

The effect of an n-type AlGaN layer on the physical properties of dual-wavelength light-emitting diode (LED) is investigated numerically. The simulation results show that compared with the conventional p-type AlGaN electron-blocking layer (EBL), the n-type AlGaN layer can improve the distribution of electrons and holes more uniformly and realize the radiation balance between electrons and holes in the quantum wells, and further reduce the efficiency dro of dual-blue wavelength LED at high current. In addition, the spontaneous emission rate of two kinds of quantum wells can be adjusted through the control of Al composition. It can be found from the results that the emission spectrum of dual-blue wavelength LED is more stable at low current with an Al composition of 0.16, while the emission spectrum is more stable at high current with an Al composition of 0.12.

Submicrometre resolved optical characterization of green nanowire-based light emittingdiodes

The electroluminescent properties of InGaN/GaN nanowire-based light emitting diodes(LEDs) are studied at different resolution scales. Axial one-dimensional heterostructureswere grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) directly on a silicon(111) substrate and consist of the following sequentially deposited layers: n-type GaN,three undoped InGaN/GaN quantum wells, p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer andp-type GaN. From the macroscopic point of view, the devices emit light in the greenspectral range (around 550 nm) under electrical injection. At 100 mA DC current, a1 mm2 chip thatintegrates around 107 nanowires emits an output power on the order of10 µW. However, the emission of the nanowire-based LED shows a spotty andpolychromatic emission. By using a confocal microscope, we have been ableto improve the spatial resolution of the optical characterizations down tothe submicrometre scale that can be assessed to a single nanowire. Detailedμ-electroluminescent characterization (emission wavelength and output power)over a representative number of single nanowires provides new insights intothe vertically integrated nanowire-based LED operation. By combining bothμ-electroluminescentand μ-photoluminescent excitation, we have experimentally shown that electrical injectionfailure is the major source of losses in these nanowire-based LEDs.

Optimized growth of p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer in the GaN-based LED

In the High-power InGaN/GaN-based LED structures, p-AlGaN layer plays a role as electron blocking layer. In this paper, GaN/InGaN-based LED have been grown on sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and the p-type doping mechanism and structural optimization of AlGaN layer were studied. The ways to change AlGaN components have been discussed. We found that the growth temperature, growth pressure and flow TMAl (mole ratio) have strong effect on the Al components through different mechanisms. In the AlGaN electron blocking layer, the Al composition is between 10%—30% and the electron could be well limited to the quantum well region, maintaining a high quality crystal material. The p-type doping efficiency of AlGaN layer is low, and there is a magnesium droop problem due to lack of hole injection. A new growth method is suggestece to solve the problem. Grown under optimal conditions, the p-type AlGaN inserted in a LED structure greatly improves the output optical power of LED device.

Study of InGaN–GaN Light-Emitting Diodes With Different Last Barrier Thicknesses

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> This work reports a theoretical and experimental study on the device performance of blue InGaN–GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with different last barrier thicknesses. The experimental results show that the employment of a 25-nm-thick p-type GaN last barrier in GaN LEDs can improve the light output power from 35.6 to 40.2 mW at 50 mA. By using advanced device simulation, it is shown that the effective energy barrier created by the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is significantly decreased due to the band bending at the interface between GaN last barrier and AlGaN EBL. The use of a p-type GaN last barrier before the growth of AlGaN EBL can provide a higher energy barrier to suppress the electron overflow and then enhance the light output power. </para>

Effect of N-Type AlGaN Layer on Carrier Transportation and Efficiency Droop of Blue InGaN Light-Emitting Diodes

The effect of an n-type AlGaN layer on the physical properties of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is investigated numerically. The p-type AlGaN electron-blocking layer is usually used in blue LEDs to reduce the electron leakage current. However, the p-type AlGaN layer also retards the injection of holes, which leads to the degradation of efficiency at high current. To improve the efficiency droop of blue InGaN LEDs at high current, an n-type AlGaN layer below the active region is proposed to replace the traditional p-type AlGaN layer. The simulation results show that the improvement in efficiency droop is due mainly to the sufficiently reduced electron leakage current and more uniform distribution of holes in the quantum wells.

Charge Profiling of the p-AlGaN Electron Blocking Layer in AlGaInN Light Emitting Diode Structures

AbstractCharacterization of operational AlGaInN heterostructure light emitting diodes (LEDs) is critical to their performance optimization and time-to-failure analysis. Typically, device performance data needs to be corroborated with structural information such as layer thicknesses, charge profiles, and the absolute location of the pn-junction. Here, non-destructive testing by capacitance-voltage profiling is being applied to AlGaInN LED structures. Within a large set of samples with different active layer geometry, we observe distinct layers of high mobile charge accumulation. We correlate those with layer thicknesses derived from an x-ray diffraction analysis of the corresponding epiwafers. In this way, we identify the charge maxima as the upper and lower interfaces of the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer to the neighboring GaN layers. By means of this successful analysis, we now have the opportunity to monitor epi process performance and stability as well as device degradation progress quasi-continuously over the device lifetime in a non-destructive mode.