Progress in research of GaN-based LEDs fabricated on SiC substrate

The influence of buffer layer growth conditions on the crystal quality and residual stress of GaN film grown on silicon carbide substrate is investigated.It is found that the Al GaN nucleation layer with high growth temperature can efficiently decrease the dislocation density and stress of the GaN film compared with Al N buffer layer.To increase the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based LEDs on Si C substrate,flip-chip structure and thin film flip-chip structure were designed and optimized.The fabricated blue LED had a maximum wall-plug efficiency of 72% at 80 m A.At 350 m A,the output power,the Vf,the dominant wavelength,and the wall-plug efficiency of the blue LED were 644 m W,2.95 V,460 nm,and 63%,respectively.     

The scalability of the tunnel-regenerated multi-active-region light-emitting diode structure

The scalability of the tunnel-regenerated multi-active-region （TRMAR） structure has been investigated for the application in light-emitting diodes （LEDs）. The use of the TRMAR structure was proved theoretically to have unique advantages over conventional slngle-active-layer structures in virtually every aspect, such as high quantum efficiency, high power and low leakage. Our study showed that the TRMAR LED structure could obtain high output power under low current injection and high wall-plug efficiency compared with the conventional single-active-layer LED structure.     

The scalability of the tunnel-regenerated multi-active-region light-emitting diode structure

The scalability of the tunnel-regenerated multi-active-region (TRMAR) structure has been investigated for the application in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The use of the TRMAR structure was proved theoretically to have unique advantages over conventional single-active-layer structures in virtually every aspect, such as high quantum efficiency, high power and low leakage. Our study showed that the TRMAR LED structure could obtain high output power under low current injection and high wall-plug efficiency compared with the conventional single-active-layer LED structure.     

Characteristics of deep ultraviolet AlGaN-based light emitting diodes with p-hBN layer

The AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with p-hBN layer are investigated numerically. In comparison with the conventional AlGaN DUV LEDs, the proposed LED can significantly improve the carrier injection, radiative efficiency, as well as the electroluminescence (EL) intensity under the same applied forward bias. Simultaneously, the light extraction efficiency in the LED using p-hBN instead of p-AlGaN exhibits a more than 250% increase at the applied voltage of 7.5 V due to the smaller loss of reflection and absorption of the emitted light.     

结温与热阻制约大功率LED发展

LED结温高低直接影响到LED出光效率、器件寿命、可靠性、发射波长等。保持LED结温往允许的范围内,是大功率LED芯片制备、器件封装和器件应用等每个环节都必须重点研究的关键因素,尤其是LED器件封装和器件应用设计必须着重解决的核心问题。首先介绍pn结结温对LED器什性能的影响,接着分析大功率LED结温与器件热阻的关系．基于对器件热阻的分析,得出了结温与热阻已经制约大功率LED进一步向更大功率发展的结论,并提出了如下两个观点：1．要在保持低成本和自然散热方式下提高LED器件的功率,根本的出路是提高光转换效率;2．在日前没有提高光转换效率的情况下,发展超过5W的大功率器件对工程应肘没有实质意义。     

AlGaInP大功率发光二极管发光效率与结温的关系

目前,AlGaInP大功率发光二极管(LED)存在的主要问题是大电流工作时发热严重,主要是由于电流扩展不均匀、出光面电极对光子的阻挡和吸收以及器件材料与空气折射率之间的差距引起的全反射现象,这些因素造成大功率LED出光受到限制、发光效率低、亮度不高.提出了一种复合电流扩展层和复合分布式布拉格反射层(DBR)的新型结构LED,使得注入电流在有源区充分地扩散,同时提高了常规单DBR对光子的反射率.结果显示,这种新型结构LED比常规结构LED的性能得到了很大的提升,350 mA注入电流下两者的输出光功率分别为4 关键词： 复合电流扩展层 复合分布式布拉格反射层 出光效率 结温     

Large-scale SiO2 photonic crystal for high efficiency GaN LEDs by nanospherical-lens lithography

Wafer-scale SiO2 photonic crystal （PhC） patterns （SiO2 air-hole PhC, SiO2-pillar PhC） on indium tin oxide （ITO） layer of GaN-based light-emitting diode （LED） are fabricated via novel nanospherical-lens lithography. Nanoscale polystyrene spheres are self-assembled into a hexagonal closed-packed monolayer array acting as convex lens for expo- sure using conventional lithography instrument. The light output power is enhanced by as great as 40.5% and 61% over those of as-grown LEDs, for SiO2-hole PhC and SiO2-pillar PhC LEDs, respectively. No degradation to LED electrical properties is found due to the fact that SiO2 PhC structures are fabricated on ITO current spreading electrode. For SiO2- pillar PhC LEDs, which have the largest light output power in all LEDs, no dry etching, which would introduce etching damage, was involved. Our method is demonstrated to be a simple, low cost, and high-yield technique for fabricating the PhC LEDs. Furthermore, the finite difference time domain simulation is also performed to further reveal the emission characteristics of LEDs with PhC structures.     

Progress and prospects of GaN-based LEDs using nanostructures

Progress with GaN-based light emitting diodes(LEDs) that incorporate nanostructures is reviewed,especially the recent achievements in our research group.Nano-patterned sapphire substrates have been used to grow an Al N template layer for deep-ultraviolet(DUV) LEDs.One efficient surface nano-texturing technology,hemisphere-cones-hybrid nanostructures,was employed to enhance the extraction efficiency of In GaN flip-chip LEDs.Hexagonal nanopyramid GaN-based LEDs have been fabricated and show electrically driven color modification and phosphor-free white light emission because of the linearly increased quantum well width and indium incorporation from the shell to the core.Based on the nanostructures,we have also fabricated surface plasmon-enhanced nanoporous GaN-based green LEDs using AAO membrane as a mask.Benefitting from the strong lateral SP coupling as well as good electrical protection by a passivation layer,the EL intensity of an SP-enhanced nanoporous LED was significantly enhanced by 380%.Furthermore,nanostructures have been used for the growth of GaN LEDs on amorphous substrates,the fabrication of stretchable LEDs,and for increasing the3-d B modulation bandwidth for visible light communication.     

Enhanced performance of InGaN light-emitting diodes with InGaN and composition-graded InGaN interlayers

The effects of InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with InGaN and composition-graded InGaN interlayers in the space of multiple quantum wells and electron blocking layer are studied numerically. The electrostatic field, energy band diagrams, carrier concentrations, light–current–voltage performances, and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) are investigated. Simulation results show that the light output power and IQE are both largely improved over the conventional LED structure due to the improvement in hole injection efficiency and electron blocking capability, especially for the LED with composition-graded InGaN interlayer.     

Performance enhancement of blue light-emitting diodes by adjusting the p-type doped last barrier

Blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with different p-doping concentrations in the last barrier have been studied numerically. The energy band diagrams, carrier concentrations, internal quantum efficiency and light output power are investigated using APSYS software. The simulation results show that the LED structure with p-doping in the last barrier has a better hole-injection efficiency and confinement of electron leakage over the structure with the last undoped GaN barrier due to enhancement of the holes’ injection and the electrons’ confinement. As a result, the efficiency droop is markedly improved, and the light output power is greatly enhanced when a larger p-doping amount is centralised in the last barrier.     

Improved light extraction efficiency of GaN-based LEDs with patterned sapphire substrate and patterned ITO

To improve the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs), periodic semisphere patterns with 3.5 μm width, 1.2 μm height, and 0.8 μm spacing were formed on sapphire substrate by dry etching using BCl₃/Cl₂ gas chemistry. The indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conductive layer was patterned by wet etching to reduce the total internal reflection existing along between p-GaN, ITO, and air. At 350 mA injection current, the high power LED by integrating patterned sapphire substrate with patterned ITO technology exhibited a 36.9% higher light output power than the conventional LEDs.     

利用单层密排的纳米球提高发光二极管的出光效率

在发光二极管(LED)的透明电极层上制作单层六角密排的聚苯乙烯(polystyrene, PS) 纳米球, 研究提高GaN基蓝光LED的出光效率. 采用自组装的方法在透明电极铟锡氧化物层上制备了直径分别约为250, 300, 450, 600和950 nm的PS纳米球, 并且开展了电致发光的研究. 结果表明, 在LED的透明电极层上附有PS纳米球能有效地提高LED的出光效率; 当PS纳米球的直径与出射光的波长比较接近时, LED的出光效率最优. 与参考样品相比, 在20 mA和150 mA工作电流下, 附有PS纳米球的样品的发光效率分别增加1.34倍和1.25倍. 三维时域有限差分方法计算表明, 该出光增强主要归因于附有PS纳米球的LED结构可以增大LED结构的光输出临界角, 从而提高LED的出光效率. 因此, 这是一种低成本的实现高效率LED的方法.     

Light-extraction efficiency and forward voltage in GaN-based light-emitting diodes with different patterns of V-shaped pits

We present a new method of making a textured V-pit surface for improving the light extraction efficiency in GaN- based light-emitting diodes and compare it with the usual low-temperature method for p-GaN V-pits. Three types of GaNbased light-emitting diodes （LEDs） with surface V-pits in different densities and regions were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. We achieved the highest output power and lowest forward voltage values with the p-InGaN V-pit LED. The V-pits enhanced the light output power values by 1.45 times the values of the conventional LED owing to an enhancement of the light scattering probability and an effective reduction of Mg-acceptor activation energy. Moreover, this new technique effectively solved the higher forward voltage problem of the usual V-pit LED.     

Improving the optical performance of InGaN light-emitting diodes by altering light reflection and refraction with triangular air prism arrays

The effect of triangular air prism (TAP) arrays with different distance-to-width (d/w) ratios on the enhancement of light extraction efficiency (LEE) of InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is investigated. The TAP arrays embedded at the sapphire/GaN interface act as light reflectors and refractors, and thereby improve the light output power due to the redirection of light into escape cones on both the front and back sides of the LED. Enhancement in radiometric power as high as 117% and far-field angle as low as 129° are realized with a compact arrangement of TAP arrays compared with that of a conventional LED made without TAP arrays under an injection current of 20 mA.     

插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层对大功率LED外量子效率的影响

为了改善蓝光大功率LED芯片p电极处的电流拥挤现象,提高大功率LED芯片的外量子效率,在ITO透明导电层与p-GaN间沉积插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层。采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积的方法沉积SiO_2薄膜,再经过光刻和BOE湿法刻蚀技术制备插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层。采用SimuLED仿真软件分析插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层对大功率LED芯片电流扩展性能的影响,研究插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层对大功率LED芯片外量子效率的影响。结果发现,插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层结构可以有效改善p电极附近的电流拥挤现象。与没有沉积插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层的大功率LED芯片相比,光输出功率得到显著的提高。在350 mA的输入电流下,沉积插指型SiO_2电流阻挡层后的大功率LED芯片的外量子效率提高了18.7%。     

GaN基LED倒装芯片蓝宝石衬底半球型图形优化设计

为了提高GaN基LED芯片的光提取效率,以GaN基LED芯片为研究对象,建立了在蓝宝石衬底出光面和外延生长面上具有半球型图形的LED倒装芯片模型,并利用光学仿真软件对图形参数进行优化设计。实验结果表明:在蓝宝石衬底的出光面和外延生长面双面都制作凹半球型图形对芯片光提取效率的提高效果最好,并且当半球的半径为3 m,周期间距为7 m时,GaN基LED倒装芯片的最大光提取效率为50.8%,比无图形化倒装芯片的光提取效率提高了115.3%。     

电致发光的完全悬空超薄硅衬底氮化镓基蓝光LED器件的制备与表征

为提升硅衬底氮化镓基LED(发光二极管)器件的光电性能和出光效率,本文提出了一种利用背后工艺实现的悬空薄膜蓝光LED器件。结合光刻工艺、深反应离子刻蚀和电感耦合等离子体反应离子刻蚀的背后工艺,制备了发光区域和大部分正负电极区域的硅衬底完全掏空,并减薄大部分氮化镓外延层的悬空薄膜LED器件。对悬空薄膜LED器件进行三维形貌表征,发现LED悬空薄膜表面平坦,变形程度小,证明背后工艺很好地解决了氮化镓外延层和硅衬底之间由于应力释放造成的薄膜变形问题。表征了LED器件的电流电压曲线和电致发光光谱等光电特性,对不同结构、不同发光区域尺寸的LED器件进行对比,发现悬空薄膜LED器件的光电性能和出光效率比普通LED器件更优越,且发光区尺寸变化对LED器件性能的影响更明显。在15 V驱动电压下,与普通LED器件相比,发光区直径为80μm的悬空LED器件的电流从4.3 mA提升至23.9 mA。在3 mA电流的驱动下,峰值光强提升了约5倍,而发光区直径为120μm的悬空器件与发光区直径为80μm的悬空器件相比,出光效率提升更为明显。本研究为发展高性能悬空氮化物薄膜LED器件提供了更多可能性。     

Degradation behaviors of high power GaN-based blue light emitting diodes

The degradation mechanism of high power InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diodes(LEDs)is investigated in this paper.The LED samples were stressed at room temperature under 350-mA injection current for about 400 h.The light output power of the LEDs decreased by 35%during the first 100 h and then remained almost unchanged,and the reverse current at 5 V increased from 10 9A to 10 7A during the aging process.The power law,whose meaning was re-illustrated by the improved rate equation,was used to analyze the light output power-injection current(L–I)curves.The analysis results indicate that nonradiative recombination,Auger recombination,and the third-order term of carriers overflow increase during the aging process,all of which may be important reasons for the degradation of LEDs.Besides,simulating L–I curves with the improved rate equation reveal that higher-than-third-order terms of carriers overflow may not be the main degradation mechanism,because they change slightly when the LED is stressed.     

Low threshold voltage light-emitting diode in silicon-based standard CMOS technology

Low-voltage silicon(Si)-based light-emitting diode(LED) is designed based on the former research of LED in Si-based standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor(CMOS) technology.The low-voltage LED is designed under the research of cross-finger structure LEDs and sophisticated structure enhanced LEDs for high efficiency and stable light source of monolithic chip integration.The device size of low-voltage LED is 45.85×38.4(μm),threshold voltage is 2.2 V in common condition,and temperature is 27 ℃.The external quantum efficiency is about 10-6 at stable operating state of 5 V and 177 mA.     

白光LED光斑均匀性的改进

用于照明领域的白光LED,其出射光斑的色度均匀性对于产品性能有着更加重要的意义.介绍了目前工业上制作白光LED主要采用的荧光粉灌封点胶工艺.并在目前主流灌封点胶工艺的基础上通过改善荧光粉层结构形状,以提高白光LED器件的出射光斑均匀性.并通过九点法对不同工艺结构下LED出射光斑的空间色度分布进行了测量和分析.通过分析,虽然采用不同的粉层结构,能够一定程度上改善白光光斑的色度均匀性.但总体上,采用这种传统的点胶工艺制作的器件的白光光斑性能不好,现有的荧光粉层灌封点胶工艺存在很大的弊端.荧光粉层的可控性是影响色度均匀性(即光斑均匀性)的主要因素,包括单个器件内的光斑和器件之间的颜色一致性都不理想.