A dual-blue light-emitting diode based on strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN quantum wells

A strain-compensated InGaN quantum well(QW) active region employing a tensile AlGaN barrier is analyzed.Its spectral stability and efficiency droop for a dual-blue light-emitting diode(LED) are improved compared with those of the conventional InGaN/GaN QW dual-blue LEDs based on a stacking structure of two In0.18Ga0.82N/GaN QWs and two In0.12Ga0.88N/GaN QWs on the same sapphire substrate.It is found that the optimal performance is achieved when the Al composition of the strain-compensated AlGaN layer is 0.12 in blue QW and 0.21 in blue-violet QW.The improvement performance can be attributed to the strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN QW,which can provide a better carrier confinement and effectively reduce leakage current.     

Modeling and simulation of efficiency droop in GaN-based blue light-emitting diodes incorporating the effect of reduced active volume of InGaN quantum wells

The efficiency droop of InGaN-based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is analyzed using numerical simulations with a modified ABC carrier recombination model. The ABC model is modified to include the effect of reduced effective active volume of InGaN quantum wells (QWs) and incorporated into the numerical simulation program. It is found that the droop of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) can be well explained by the effect of reduced light-emitting active volume without assuming a large Auger recombination coefficient. A simulated IQE curve with the modified ABC model is found to fit quite well with a measured efficiency curve of an InGaN LED sample when the effective active volume takes only 2.5% of the physical volume of QWs. The proposed numerical simulation model incorporating the reduced effective active volume can be advantageous for use in the modeling and simulation of InGaN LEDs for higher efficiency.     

具有三角形InGaN/GaN多量子阱的高内量子效率的蓝光LED(英文)

对InGaN量子阱LED的内量子效率进行了优化研究。分别对发光光谱、量子阱中的载流子浓度、能带分布、静电场和内量子效应进行了理论分析。对具有不同量子阱数量的InGaN/GaN LED进行了理论数值比对研究。研究结果表明,对于传统结构的LED而言,2个量子阱的结构相对于5个和7个量子阱具有更好的光学性能。同时还研究了具有三角形量子阱结构的LED,研究结果显示,三角形多量子阱结构具有较高的电致发光强度、更高的内量子效率和更好的发光效率,所有的优点都归因于较高的电子-空穴波函数重叠率和低的Stark效应所产生的较高的载流子输入效率和复合发光效率。     

含有量子点的双波长LED的光谱调控

本文通过对含有高In组分量子点的双波长LED进行了模拟计算, 并对器件的能带结构、载流子浓度、复合速率和辐射光谱进行了研究. 通过对器件结构的调整与对比, 发现蓝绿双波长LED的绿光量子阱中加入高In组分量子点后可以拓宽辐射光谱, 使LED光谱具有更高的显色指数, 为实现无荧光粉的白光LED提供指导. 量子点对载流子具有很强的束缚能力, 并且载流子在量子点处具有更短的寿命, 载流子优先在量子点处复合, 量子点处所对应的黄光与量子阱润湿层所对应的绿光的比例随量子点浓度的增大而增大, 载流子浓度较低时以量子点处的黄光辐射为主, 载流子浓度变大后, 量子点复合逐渐达到饱和, 绿光辐射开始占据主导. 对间隔层厚度和间隔层掺杂浓度的调节可以很方便地调控载流子的分布, 从而实现对含有量子点的双波长LED两个活性层辐射速率的调控. 结果表明, 通过对量子点浓度、间隔层厚度、间隔层掺杂浓度的控节可以很好地实现对LED辐射光谱的调控作用. 关键词： GaN 量子点 光谱调控 双波长LED     

Efficiency droop suppression in GaN-based light-emitting diodes by chirped multiple quantum well structure at high current injection

Gallium nitride(Ga N) 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 m A/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.     

量子阱数量变化对InGaN/AlGaN LED的影响

采用软件理论分析的方法分析了InGaN/AlGaN量子阱数量变化对发光二极管内量子效率、电子空穴浓度分布、载流子溢出产生的影响。分析结果表明:量子阱的个数不是越多越好,LED的光学性质和量子阱的个数并不成线性关系。量子阱个数太少时,电流溢出现象较明显;而当量子阱个数太多时,极化现象明显,且会造成材料浪费。因此应根据工作电流选择合适的量子阱个数。     

载流子分布对GaN基LED频率特性的影响

分别在直流偏置和交流偏置下,对大功率GaN基LED的电学和光学特性进行了研究。结果显示,通过改变靠近p型层的量子垒（也就是最后一个量子垒）中的In组分可以调控有源区中的载流子分布。有源区内积累的电子会引起负电容效应。而通过降低有源区量子垒的势垒高度,可以改善LED中载流子传输特性,并实现载流子复合速率及通信调制带宽20%的提高。这个工作将有助于理解GaN基LED中载流子分布对频率特性的影响,并为设计适用于可见光通信的大功率高速LED奠定基础。     

Enhancement of surface emission in deep ultraviolet AlGaN-based light emitting diodes with staggered quantum wells

The optical polarization properties of staggered AlGaN-AlGaN/AlN quantum wells (QWs) are investigated using the theoretical model based on the k·p method. The numerical results show that the energy level order and coupling relation of the valence subband structure change in the staggered QWs and the trend is beneficial to TE polarized transition compared to that of conventional AlGaN/AlN QWs. As a result, the staggered QWs have much stronger TE-polarized emission than conventional AlGaN-based QWs, which can enhance the surface emission of deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The polarization control by using staggered QWs can be applied in high efficiency DUV AlGaN-based LEDs.     

Investigation of GaN-based dual-wavelength light-emitting diodes with p-type barriers and vertically stacked quantum wells

Designs of p-doped in quantum well (QW) barriers and specific number of vertically stacked QWs areproposed to improve the optical performance of GaN-based dual-wavelength light-emitting diodes (LEDs).Emission spectra, carrier concentration, electron current density, and internal quantum efficiency (IQE)are studied numerically. Simulation results show that the efficiency droop and the spectrum intensityat the large current injection are improved markedly by using the proposed design. Compared with the conventional LEDs, the uniform spectrum intensity of dual-wavelength luminescence is realized when aspecific number of vertically stacked QWs is adopted. Suppression of electron leakage current and the promotion of hole injection efficiency could be one of the main reasons for these improvements.     

High-performance InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs with Al-doped ZnO transparent conductive layers grown by MOCVD using H_2O as an oxidizer

In this study,the high performance of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with Aldoped ZnO(AZO) transparent conductive layers(TCLs) has been demonstrated.The AZO-TCLs were fabricated on the n~+-InGaN contact layer by metal organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) using H_2O as an oxidizer at temperatures as low as 400 ℃ without any post-deposition annealing.It shows a high transparency(98%),low resistivity(510 ~4 Ω·cm),and an epitaxial-like excellent interface on p-GaN with an n+-InGaN contact layer.A forward voltage of 2.82 V @ 20 mA was obtained.Most importantly,the power efficiencies can be markedly improved by 53.8%@20 mA current injection and 39.6%@350 mA current injection compared with conventional LEDs with indium tin oxide TCL(LED-Ⅲ),and by28.8%@20 mA current injection and 4.92%@350 mA current injection compared with LEDs with AZO-TCL prepared by MOCVD using O_2 as an oxidizer(LED-Ⅱ),respectively.The results indicate that the AZO-TCL grown by MOCVD using H_2O as an oxidizer is a promising TCL for a low-cost and high-efficiency GaN-based LED application.     

GaN基双波长发光二极管电致发光谱特性研究

通过同时调节同一有源区内不同阱层和垒层的In组分，制备了GaN基单有源区蓝、绿光双波长发光二极管(LED).实现了20mA下蓝、绿光同时发射.实验发现随注入电流由10mA增大到60mA，电致发光(EL)谱中绿光峰强度相对于蓝光峰强度不断增强，峰值波长蓝移也更加明显.同时考虑极化效应和载流子不均匀分布的影响，通过对一维薛定谔方程、稳态速率方程和泊松方程的联立自洽求解.分析了测试电流下蓝、绿光EL谱峰值波长和功率的变化情况.发现理论结果与实验结果有很好地符合. 关键词： 极化 载流子不均匀分布 双波长     

Comprehensive study of blue and green multi-quantum-well light-emitting diodes grown on conventional and lateral epitaxial overgrowth GaN

Growths of blue and green multi-quantum wells (MQWs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are realized on lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) GaN, and compared with identical structures grown on conventional GaN. Atomic force microscopy is used to confirm the significant reduction of dislocations in the wing region of our LEO samples before active-region growth. Differences between surface morphologies of blue and green MQWs are analyzed. These MQWs are integrated into LEDs. All devices show a blue shift in the electroluminescence (EL) peak and narrowing in EL spectra with increasing injection current, both characteristics attributed to the band-gap renormalization. Green LEDs show a larger EL peak shift and a broader EL spectrum due to larger piezoelectric field and more indium segregation in the MQWs, respectively. Blue LEDs on LEO GaN show a higher performance than those on conventional GaN; however, no performance difference is observed for green LEDs on LEO GaN versus conventional GaN. The performance of the green LEDs is shown to be primarily limited by the active layer growth quality.     

InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构发光二极管发光机理转变的低频电流噪声表征

本文对InGaN/GaN多量子阱结构发光二极管开启后的电流噪声进行了测试, 结合低频电流噪声的特点和载流子之间的复合机理, 研究了低频电流噪声功率谱密度与发光二极管发光转变机理之间的关系. 结论表明, 当电流从0.1 mA到10 mA逐渐增大的过程中, InGaN/GaN发光二极管的电流噪声行为从产生-复合噪声逐渐接近于低频1/f噪声, 载流子的复合机理从非辐射复合过渡为电子与空穴之间载流子数的辐射复合, 并具有标准1/f噪声的趋势, 此时多量子阱中的电子和空穴之间的复合趋向于稳定. 本文的结论提供了一种表征InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光二极管发光机理转变的有效方法, 为进一步研究发光二极管中载流子的复合机理、优化和设计发光二极管、提高其发光量子效率提供理论依据.     

Optimization towards reduction of efficiency droop in blue GaN/InGaN based light emitting diodes

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on GaN/InGaN material suffer from efficiency droop at high current injection levels. We propose multiple quantum well (MQW) GaN/InGaN LEDs by optimizing the barrier thickness and high–low–high indium composition to reduce the efficiency droop. The simulation results reflect a significant improvement in the efficiency droop by using barrier width of 10 nm and high–low–high indium composition in MQW LED.     

Electrical and optical characteristics of GaN-based light-emitting diodes fabricated with emission wavelengths of 429-467 nm

The electrical and optical characteristics of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated with emission wavelengths of 429-467 nm were investigated. The optical output increased with increasing emission wavelength, which is attributed to the enhanced quantum confinement effect as a result of indium composition fluctuation. With higher indium content, the LEDs exhibited unfavorable performance, including a larger efficiency droop, spectral blueshift, and spectral broadening, due to indium-induced strains. The effect of heterointerfaces associated with the indium content of the active region on the device resistance was negligible.     

Theoretical analysis of semi/non-polar In GaN/GaN light-emitting diodes grown on silicon substrates

A theoretical study of polar and semi/non-polar In Ga N/Ga N light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with different internal surface polarization charges, which can be grown on Si substrates, is conducted by using APSYS software. In comparison with polar structure LEDs, the semi-polar structure exhibits a higher concentration of electrons and holes and radiative recombination rate, and its reduced built-in polarization field weakens the extent of band bending which causes the shift of peak emission wavelength. So the efficiency droop of semi-polar In Ga N/Ga N LEDs declines obviously and the optical power is significantly improved. In comparison with non-polar structure LEDs, although the concentration of holes and electrons as well as the radiative recombination rate of the semi-polar structure are better in the last two quantum wells(QWs) approaching the p-Ga N side, the uniformity of distribution of carriers and radiative recombination rate for the nonpolar structure is better. So the theoretical analysis indicates that the removal of the internal polarization field in the MQWs active regions for non-polar structure LEDs contributes to the uniform distribution of electrons and holes, and decreases the electron leakage. Thus it enhances the radiative recombination rate, and further improves the IQEs and optical powers, and shows the best photoelectric properties among these three structures.     

瓦级大功率InGaN蓝光LED的光色电特性

封装并测量了瓦级大功率InGaN蓝色发光二极管(LED)在不同正向电流I_F驱动下的光通量、电功率、发光效率、发射光谱和色品坐标等参数的变化。研究表明, 光通量与电功率随I_F的增大呈亚线性增加,而发光效率η则下降。当I_F从50 mA一直增大到450 mA左右时,发射光谱的峰值波长λ_p随I_F的增加发生蓝移,蓝移现象可能与InGaN蓝光LED芯片在较大电流时能带被拉平以及In成分的作用有关。当I_F大于500 mA或800 mA后,λ_p又发生红移,红移现象可能与大电流注入下InGaN蓝光LED芯片产生的热效应以及电子-空穴对辐射复合有关。此外,光谱的半峰全宽(FWHM)产生宽化现象,色坐标x和y值也发生变化。     

具有超晶格应力调制结构的绿光InGaN/GaN多量子阱的发光特性

研究了具有InGaN/GaN超晶格(SL)插入结构的绿光InGaN/GaN多量子阱(MQW)的发光特性。结构测试表明,SL插入结构并没有引起MQW中平均In组份的增加,而是改变了In组份的分布,形成了高In组份的量子点和低In组份量子阱。其电致发光(EL)谱和光致发光(PL)谱均出现了双发光峰。我们认为这两个 峰分别来自于量子点和量子阱,且存在着载流子从阱向点转移的输运机制。最后变温PL积分强度的Arrhenius 拟合表明,SL插入结构并没有在MQW中引入新的缺陷,使其发光效率下降。     

注入电流对绿光高压LED光电特性的影响

设计并制备了12 V 的GaN基绿光高压发光二极管（LED）,并对其进行了变电流测试。研究了绿光高压LED的正向电压、峰值波长、光功率以及光效等重要参数随注入电流的变化关系,电流变化范围为3~50 mA,测试温度为25 ℃。实验结果表明：电流对绿光高压LED的光电特性有很大影响。在驱动电流为20 mA时,对应电压为14 V。随着注入电流的增大,峰值波长蓝移了2 nm。随着电流的增大,光功率近似于线性增加。在注入电流从3 mA增大到20 mA的过程中,光效降低了约61%;在注入电流从20 mA增大到50 mA的过程中,光效降低了约39%。这说明高压LED在大电流驱动时,光效降低的幅度比较缓慢。上述结果对 GaN基绿光高压 LED 的改进优化具有一定的参考价值。     

Modeling of color-coded III-nitride LED structures with deep quantum wells

We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first successful simulation of color-coded III-nitride light-emitting diodes (LEDs) incorporating in their active regions shallow and deep InGaN quantum wells (QWs). Dichromatic violet–aquamarine semipolar LEDs grown in Ga-polar and N-polar crystallographic orientations (Kawaguchi et al. in Appl Phys Lett 100:231110–231114, 2012) were used as an experimental benchmark. Opposite interface polarization charges in Ga-polar and N-polar LEDs provide different conditions for carrier transport and account for different shape of color-coded emission spectra. To reproduce experimentally observed trends, several effects specific for deep III-nitride QWs were essential in our modeling including \((1)\) strongly non-equilibrium character of active QW populations, \((2)\) dynamic carrier overshoot of narrow QW layers, and \((3)\) Auger-assisted QW depopulation.