Peak Internal Quantum Efficiency Research Articles

Estimating internal quantum efficiency of light-emitting diodes from current–voltage curves

This work presents an approach to estimate the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of commercial visible light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with the I–V characteristics. A narrow range of I–V curve, where the ideality factor is minimum, is chosen to be fitted by a parallel model of different current components. Then the IQE in this current range is calculated as the proportion of radiative recombination current and used as a reference to deduce the IQE from the external quantum efficiency. With this method, it founds that the peak IQE of blue and red LEDs exceeds 90% while that of green ones exceeds 60%.

Contactless Optical Characterization of Carrier Dynamics in Free-Standing InAs-InAlAs Core-Shell Nanowires on Silicon.

Contactless time-resolved optical pump-probe and external quantum efficiency measurements were performed in epitaxially grown free-standing wurtzite indium arsenide/indium aluminum arsenide (InAs-InAlAs) core-shell nanowires on Si (111) substrate from 77 to 293 K. The first independent investigation of Shockley-Read-Hall, radiative, and Auger recombination in InAs-based NWs is presented. Although the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination coefficient was found to be at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than the average experimental values of other reported InAs materials, the Auger recombination coefficient was reported to be 10-fold smaller. The very low Auger and high radiative rates result in an estimated peak internal quantum efficiency of the core-shell nanowires as high as 22% at 77 K, making these nanowires of potential interest for high-efficiency mid-infrared emitters. A greater than 2-fold enhancement in minority carrier lifetime was observed from capping nanowires with a thin InAlAs shell due to the passivation of surface defects.

The Role of Dielectric Screening in Organic Shortwave Infrared Photodiodes for Spectroscopic Image Sensing

AbstractThis work examines an additive approach that increases dielectric screening to overcome performance challenges in organic shortwave infrared (SWIR) photodiodes. The role of the high‐permittivity additive, camphoric anhydride, in the exciton dissociation and charge collection processes is revealed through measurements of transient photoconductivity and electrochemical impedance. Dielectric screening reduces the exciton binding energy to increase exciton dissociation efficiency and lowers trap‐assisted recombination loss, in the absence of any morphological changes for two polymer variants. In the best devices, the peak internal quantum efficiency at 1100 nm is increased up to 66%, and the photoresponse extends to 1400 nm. The SWIR photodiodes are integrated into a 4 × 4 pixel imager to demonstrate tissue differentiation and estimate the fat‐to‐muscle ratio through noninvasive spectroscopic analysis.

Three dimensional simulation on the transport and quantum efficiency of UVC-LEDs with random alloy fluctuations

The active regions of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UVLEDs) for UVB and ultra-violet band C wavelengths are composed of AlGaN alloy quantum barriers (QBs) and quantum wells (QWs). The use of alloy QBs and QWs facilitates the formation of percolative paths for carrier injection but also decreases carrier confinement within the QWs. We applied the recently developed Localization Landscape (LL) theory for a full 3D simulation of the LEDs. LL theory describes the effective quantum potential of the quantum states for electrons and holes in a random disordered system with a high computational speed. The results show that the potential fluctuations in the n-AlGaN buffer layer, QWs, and QBs provide percolative paths for carrier injection into the top (p-side) QW. Several properties due to compositional disorder are observed: (1) The peak internal quantum efficiency is larger when disorder is present, due to carrier localization, than for a simulation without fluctuations. (2) The droop is larger mainly due to poor hole injection and weaker blocking ability of the electron blocking layer caused by the fluctuating potentials. (3) Carriers are less confined in the QW and extend into the QBs due to the alloy potential fluctuations. The wave function extension into the QBs enhances TM emission as shown from a k·p simulation of wave-functions admixture, which should then lead to poor light extraction.

Effects of an undoped-InGaN waveguide on the optical confinement and carrier dynamics of InGaN laser diodes

In this paper, we have analyzed the performance of laser diodes (LDs) with an undoped InxGa1−xN waveguide in association with variable In mole fractions varying from 0% to 6%. The InGaN waveguide significantly affected optical confinement and carrier dynamics in the LD. Laser output power, internal quantum efficiency (IQE), quantum well (QW) gain and optical confinement factor (OCF) are analyzed in correlation with In content in the waveguide. The OCF for TE1 mode at x = 0 is 0.0079, and it increases with x. The OCF for x = 0.06 is 0.0109. Quantum states in the QW reduced with In content, which reduced QW gain. However, improved OCF consequently improved the overall gain of the device. Peak IQE for x = 0 is ~0.28, which increased to ~0.683 for x = 0.06. Laser output power, slope efficiency and IQE improved with increasing In content. The threshold current density for x = 0 is 3.911 kA cm−2, which drops to 1.806 kA cm−2 for x = 0.06. Auger recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination and electron leakage are reduced for high In content in the waveguide. Auger carrier loss remains nearly constant above the threshold, hence efficiency droop above the threshold current density is attributed primarily to leakage current density. The efficiency droop for x = 0 is 25.59%, which increased to 36.66% for x = 0.06 at 25 kA cm−2 current density. However, the IQE for x = 0 at 25 kA cm−2 is 0.202, which increased to 0.436 for x = 0.06 at 25 kA cm−2. Slope efficiency increases with In content; slope efficiency for x = 0.06 improves by 0.2126 W A−1. Laser output power is improved by 1.91 W at 25 kA cm−2 for x = 0.06.

Auger recombination in AlGaN quantum wells for UV light-emitting diodes

We show that the often observed efficiency droop in AlGaN quantum well heterostructures is an internal carrier loss process, analogous to the InGaN system. We attribute this loss process to Auger recombination, with C = 2.3 × 10−30 cm6 s−1; a similar value found commonly in InGaN-based devices. As a result, the peak internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of our structures is limited to 66%. These values were obtained by resonant excitation (time-resolved) photoluminescence (PL), avoiding common error sources in IQE measurements. The existence of strong Auger recombination implies that simple methods employed for IQE determination, such as temperature-dependent PL, may lead to erroneous values. Auger losses will have to be considered once the challenges regarding carrier injection are solved.

Room-Temperature Triple-Ligand Surface Engineering Synergistically Boosts Ink Stability, Recombination Dynamics, and Charge Injection toward EQE-11.6% Perovskite QLEDs.

Developing low-cost and high-quality quantum dots (QDs) or nanocrystals (NCs) and their corresponding efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is crucial for the next-generation ultra-high-definition flexible displays. Here, there is a report on a room-temperature triple-ligand surface engineering strategy to play the synergistic role of short ligands of tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOAB), didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB), and octanoic acid (OTAc) toward "ideal" perovskite QDs with a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of >90%, unity radiative decay in its intrinsic channel, stable ink characteristics, and effective charge injection and transportation in QD films, resulting in the highly efficient QD-based LEDs (QLEDs). Furthermore, the QD films with less nonradiative recombination centers exhibit improved PL properties with a PLQY of 61% through dopant engineering in A-site. The robustness of such properties is demonstrated by the fabrication of green electroluminescent LEDs based on CsPbBr3 QDs with the peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 11.6%, and the corresponding peak internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and power efficiency are 52.2% and 44.65 lm W-1 , respectively, which are the most-efficient perovskite QLEDs with colloidal CsPbBr3 QDs as emitters up to now. These results demonstrate that the as-obtained QD inks have a wide range application in future high-definition QD displays and high-quality lightings.

Trade-off between bandwidth and efficiency in semipolar (202¯1¯) InGaN/GaN single- and multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with large modulation bandwidths are desirable for visible-light communication. Along with modulation speed, the consideration of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) under operating conditions is also important. Here, we report the modulation characteristics of semipolar (202¯1¯) InGaN/GaN (LEDs) with single-quantum well (SQW) and multiple-quantum-well (MQW) active regions grown on free-standing semipolar GaN substrates with peak internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) of 0.93 and 0.73, respectively. The MQW LEDs exhibit on average about 40–80% higher modulation bandwidth, reaching 1.5 GHz at 13 kA/cm2, but about 27% lower peak IQE than the SQW LEDs. We extract the differential carrier lifetimes (DLTs), RC parasitics, and carrier escape lifetimes and discuss their role in the bandwidth and IQE characteristics. A coulomb-enhanced capture process is shown to rapidly reduce the DLT of the MQW LED at high current densities. Auger recombination is also shown to play little role in increasing the speed of the LEDs. Finally, we investigate the trade-offs between the bandwidth and efficiency and introduce the bandwidth-IQE product as a potential figure of merit for optimizing speed and efficiency in InGaN/GaN LEDs.

Optoelectronic Performance Variations in InGaN/GaN Multiple-Quantum-Well Light-Emitting Diodes: Effects of Potential Fluctuation.

We investigate the cause of the optoelectronic performance variations in InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well blue light-emitting diodes, using three different samples from an identical wafer grown on a c-plane sapphire substrate. Various macroscopic measurements have been conducted, revealing that with increasing strain in the quantum wells (QWs), the crystal quality improves with an increasing peak internal quantum efficiency while the droop becomes more severe. We propose to explain these variations using a model where the in-plane local potential fluctuation in QWs is considered. Our work is contrasted with prior works in that macroscopic measurements are utilized to find clues on the microscopic changes and their impacts on the device performances, which has been rarely attempted.

Water-Vapor-Mediated Close-Spaced Vapor Transport Growth of Epitaxial Gallium Indium Phosphide Films on Gallium Arsenide Substrates

Ga1-xInxP is a technologically important III-V ternary semiconductor widely utilized in commercial and record-efficiency solar cells. We report the growth of Ga1-xInxP by water-vapor-mediated close-spaced vapor transport. Because growth of III-V semiconductors in this system is controlled by diffusion of metal-oxide species, we find that congruent transport from the mixed powder source requires complete annealing to form a single alloy phase. Growth from a fully-alloyed source at water vapor concentrations of ~7000 ppm in H2 at 850 °C affords smooth films with electron mobility of 1070 cm2 V-1 s-1, and peak internal quantum efficiency of ~90% for carrier collection in a non-aqueous photoelectrochemical test cell.

Carrier Dynamics and Electro-Optical Characterization of High-Performance GaN/InGaN Core-Shell Nanowire Light-Emitting Diodes

In this work, we demonstrate high-performance electrically injected GaN/InGaN core-shell nanowire-based LEDs grown using selective-area epitaxy and characterize their electro-optical properties. To assess the quality of the quantum wells, we measure the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) using conventional low temperature/room temperature integrated photoluminescence. The quantum wells show a peak IQE of 62%, which is among the highest reported values for nanostructure-based LEDs. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) is also used to study the carrier dynamics and response times of the LEDs. TRPL measurements yield carrier lifetimes in the range of 1–2 ns at high excitation powers. To examine the electrical performance of the LEDs, current density–voltage (J-V) and light-current density-voltage (L-J-V) characteristics are measured. We also estimate the peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) to be 8.3% from a single side of the chip with no packaging. The LEDs have a turn-on voltage of 2.9 V and low series resistance. Based on FDTD simulations, the LEDs exhibit a relatively directional far-field emission pattern in the range of pm 15°. This work demonstrates that it is feasible for electrically injected nanowire-based LEDs to achieve the performance levels needed for a variety of optical device applications.

Explanation of low efficiency droop in semipolar (202¯1¯) InGaN/GaN LEDs through evaluation of carrier recombination coefficients.

We report the carrier dynamics and recombination coefficients in single-quantum-well semipolar (202¯1¯) InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes emitting at 440 nm with 93% peak internal quantum efficiency. The differential carrier lifetime is analyzed for various injection current densities from 5 A/cm2 to 10 kA/cm2, and the corresponding carrier densities are obtained. The coupling of internal quantum efficiency and differential carrier lifetime vs injected carrier density (n) enables the separation of the radiative and nonradiative recombination lifetimes and the extraction of the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) nonradiative (A), radiative (B), and Auger (C) recombination coefficients and their n-dependency considering the saturation of the SRH recombination rate and phase-space filling. The results indicate a three to four-fold higher A and a nearly two-fold higher B0 for this semipolar orientation compared to that of c-plane reported using a similar approach [A. David and M. J. Grundmann, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 103504 (2010)]. In addition, the carrier density in semipolar (202¯1¯) is found to be lower than the carrier density in c-plane for a given current density, which is important for suppressing efficiency droop. The semipolar LED also shows a two-fold lower C0 compared to c-plane, which is consistent with the lower relative efficiency droop for the semipolar LED (57% vs. 69%). The lower carrier density, higher B0 coefficient, and lower C0 (Auger) coefficient are directly responsible for the high efficiency and low efficiency droop reported in semipolar (202¯1¯) LEDs.

Electrical determination of current injection and internal quantum efficiencies in AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes.

We propose a method to determine the current injection efficiency (CIE) and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) during current injection. The method is based on fourth-order polynomial fitting of a modified rate equation to electroluminescence data. Our method can extract the CIE at low injection current densities, unlike conventional methods that generally assume the CIE to be unity. We apply the method to AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet LEDs. Results show that the CIE was only approximately 51% at low injection current densities and was almost independent of injection current density up to 100 A/cm2. The peak IQE was 77%.

Evaluation of the temperature-dependent internal quantum efficiency and the light-extraction efficiency in a GaN-based blue light-emitting diode by using a rate equation model

The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and the light extraction efficiency (LEE) of a GaN-based blue light-emitting diode (LED) are evaluated separately in the temperature range between 20 to 80 °C. The theoretical IQE model based on the carrier rate equation of semiconductors is applied to determine the IQE and the LEE separately from a measured external quantum efficiency (EQE) versus current relation for the LED sample. While the peak EQE of the measured sample decreases by 3.2 % as the temperature increases from 20 to 80 °C, it is found that the peak IQE decreases by 4.5 % and the LEE increases by 1.5 %.

Efficiency Enhancement of InGaN MQW LED Using Compositionally Step Graded InGaN Barrier on SiC Substrate

In this paper, we designed and simulated a silicon carbide (SiC) technology, InGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diode (LED) using a compositionally step graded (CSG) InGaN barrier in the active region. The optical power, internal quantum efficiency (IQE), and carrier distribution profile in the device are theoretically studied by Sentaurus TCAD simulation. The CSG InGaN barrier LED shows substantial improvement in IQE when comparing the structures with conventional GaN barrier or InGaN barrier. This improvement is mainly due to the enhanced hole transportation/injection and modified band bending by polarization effect. The results show an excellent agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the lattice-matched SiC substrate technology increases the radiative recombination rate in the InGaN MQW LEDs. The optical output and peak IQE obtained is 62 mW and 76.5%, respectively, for the proposed LED emitting at 450 nm wavelength at an injection current of 200 mA. This enhanced performance of the SiC technology makes it a good alternative for sapphire substrate in commercial lighting applications.

Enhancement of quantum efficiency in InGaN quantum wells by using superlattice interlayers and pulsed growth

Enhancement of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) in InGaN quantum wells by insertion of a superlattice interlayer and applying the pulsed growth regime is investigated by a set of time-resolved optical techniques. A threefold IQE increase was achieved in the structure with the superlattice. It was ascribed to the net effect of decreased internal electrical field due to lower strain and altered carrier localization conditions. Pulsed MOCVD growth also resulted in twice higher IQE, presumably due to better control of defects in the structure. An LED (light emitting diode) structure with a top p-type contact GaN layer was manufactured by using both growth techniques with the peak IQE equal to that in the underlying quantum well structure. The linear recombination coefficient was found to gradually increase with excitation due to carrier delocalization, and the latter dependence was successfully used to fit the IQE droop.

Modification of internal quantum efficiency and efficiency droop in GaN-based flip-chip light-emitting diodes via the Purcell effect.

The Purcell effect in GaN-based flip-chip (FC) light-emitting diode (LED) structures is investigated numerically using finite-difference time-domain simulations. Depending on the thickness of the p-GaN layer, the variation of the Purcell factor of FC LEDs is obtained to be as high as 20%, which results in the relative modification of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) as large as 8% and 2.5% for the unmodified IQE of 0.4 and 0.8, respectively. Since the influence of the Purcell effect becomes more conspicuous as the IQE decreases, the Purcell enhancement can be advantageously used to mitigate the efficiency droop problem to some extent. When the Purcell effect is positively applied to the blue LED with the peak IQE of 0.8 and the droop ratio of 29.1%, the peak IQE and the droop ratio are found to be improved to 0.82 and 26.3%. This small but non-negligible effect on IQE is expected to be importantly adopted for industry development of high efficiency LEDs.

Efficiency droop suppression in GaN-based light-emitting diodes by chirped multiple quantum well structure at high current injection**Project suppored by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2014AA032608), the Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Material of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China (Grant No. 20121201), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China.

Gallium nitride (GaN) based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with chirped multiple quantum well (MQW) structures have been investigated experimentally and numerically in this paper. Compared to conventional LEDs with uniform quantum wells (QWs), LEDs with chirped MQW structures have better internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and carrier injection efficiency. The droop ratios of LEDs with chirped MQW structures show a remarkable improvement at 600 mA/mm2, reduced down from 28.6% (conventional uniform LEDs) to 23.7% (chirped MQWs-a) and 18.6% (chirped MQWs-b), respectively. Meanwhile, the peak IQE increases from 76.9% (uniform LEDs) to 83.7% (chirped MQWs-a) and 88.6% (chirped MQWs-b). The reservoir effect of chirped MQW structures is the significant reason as it could increase hole injection efficiency and radiative recombination. The leakage current and Auger recombination of chirped MQW structures can also be suppressed. Furthermore, the chirped MQWs-b structure with lower potential barriers can enhance the reservoir effect and obtain further improvement of the carrier injection efficiency and radiative recombination, as well as further suppressing efficiency droop.

Photocurrent enhanced by singlet fission in a dye-sensitized solar cell.

Investigations of singlet fission have accelerated recently because of its potential utility in solar photoconversion, although only a few reports definitively identify the role of singlet fission in a complete solar cell. Evidence of the influence of singlet fission in a dye-sensitized solar cell using 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPIBF, 1) as the sensitizer is reported here. Self-assembly of the blue-absorbing 1 with co-adsorbed oxidation products on mesoporous TiO2 yields a cell with a peak internal quantum efficiency of ∼70% and a power conversion efficiency of ∼1.1%. Introducing a ZrO2 spacer layer of thickness varying from 2 to 20 Å modulates the short-circuit photocurrent such that it is initially reduced as thickness increases but 1 with 10-15 Å of added ZrO2. This rise can be explained as being due to a reduced rate of injection of electrons from the S1 state of 1 such that singlet fission, known to occur with a 30 ps time constant in polycrystalline films, has the opportunity to proceed efficiently and produce two T1 states per absorbed photon that can subsequently inject electrons into TiO2. Transient spectroscopy and kinetic simulations confirm this novel mode of dye-sensitized solar cell operation and its potential utility for enhanced solar photoconversion.

Contribution of deep-level defects to decreasing radiative efficiency of InGaN/GaN quantum wells with increasing emission wavelength

Deep-level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) and photoluminescence (PL) were used to understand the role of defects in reducing the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of InxGa1−xN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) as the emission wavelength increased from approximately 450 to 530 nm, i.e., the “green gap”. DLOS studies of light emitting diodes (LEDs) identified QW defects whose concentration increased significantly with increasing x. The effect of increased QW defect density on IQE was assessed by examining the PL of MQW samples. Green-emitting MQWs had lower IQE and required higher pump power to reach peak IQE, corroborating the important impact of enhanced non-radiative recombination at defects.