Influences of stress on the properties of GaN/InGaN multiple quantum well LEDs grown on Si(111) substrates

The influences of stress on the properties of In GaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) grown on silicon substrate were investigated.The different stresses were induced by growing In GaN and Al GaN insertion layers(IL) respectively before the growth of MQWs in metal–organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) system.High resolution x-ray diffraction(HRXRD) and photoluminescence(PL) measurements demonstrated that the In GaN IL introduced an additional tensile stress in n-GaN,which released the strain in MQWs.It is helpful to increase the indium incorporation in MQWs.In comparison with MQWs without the IL,the wavelength shows a red-shift.Al GaN IL introduced a compressive stress to compensate the tensile stress,which reduces the indium composition in MQWs.PL measurement shows a blue-shift of wavelength.The two kinds of ILs were adopted to In GaN/GaN MQWs LED structures.The same wavelength shifts were also observed in the electroluminescence(EL) measurements of the LEDs.Improved indium homogeneity with In GaN IL,and phase separation with Al GaN IL were observed in the light images of the LEDs.     

Effects of InGaN barriers with low indium content on internal quantum efficiency of blue InGaN multiple quantum wells

Blue In_0.2Ga_0.8N multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with In_xGa_{1 - x}N (x=0.01-0.04) barriers are grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy. The internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) of these MQWs are studied in a way of temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra. Furthermore, a 2-channel Arrhenius model is used to analyse the nonradiative recombination centres (NRCs). It is found that by adopting the InGaN barrier beneath the lowest well, it is possible to reduce the strain hence the NRCs in InGaN MQWs. By optimizing the thickness and the indium content of the InGaN barriers, the IQEs of InGaN/InGaN MQWs can be increased by about 2.5 times compared with conventional InGaN/GaN MQWs. On the other hand, the incorporation of indium atoms into the intermediate barriers between adjacent wells does not improve IQE obviously. In addition, the indium content of the intermediate barriers should match with that of the lowest barrier to avoid relaxation.     

Indium-Induced Effect on Polarized Electroluminescence from InGaN/GaN MQWs Light Emitting Diodes

Polarization-resolved edge-emitting electroluminescence （EL） studies of In GaN/GaN MQWs of wavelengths from near-UV （390nm） to blue （468nm） light-emitting diodes （LEDs） are performed. Although the TE mode is dominant in all the samples of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs, an obvious difference of light polarization properties is found in the InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs with different wavelengths. The polarization degree decreases from 52.4% to 26.9% when light wavelength increases. Analyses of band structures of InGaN/GaN quantum wells and luminescence properties of quantum dots imply that quantum-dot-like behavior is the dominant reason for the low luminescence polarization degree of blue LEDs, and the high luminescence polarization degree of UV LEDs mainly comes from QW confinement and the strain effect. Therefore, indium induced carrier confinement （quantum-dot-like behavior） might play a major role in the polarization degree change of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs from near violet to blue.     

Wavelength Red-Shift of Long Wavelength InGaN/GaN Multi-Quantum Well by Using an InGaN Underlying Layer

Long-wavelength Ga2N based light-emitting diodes are of importance in full color displays, monofithic white lightemitting diodes and solid-state lighting, etc. However, their epitaxial growth faces great challenges because high indium （In） compositions of lnGaN are difficult to grow. In order to enhance In incorporation and lengthen the emission wavelength of a InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well （MQW）, we insert an InGaN underlying layer underneath the MQW. InGaN/GaN MQWs with various InGaN underlying layers, such as graded InyGal-yN material with linearly increasing In content, or InyGa1-yN with fixed In content but different thicknesses, are grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Experimental results demonstrate the enhancement of In incorporation and the emission wavelength redshift by the insertion of an InGaN underlying layer.     

Direct-bandgap electroluminescence from tensile-strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells at room temperature

Tensile-strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells(MQWs) were grown on a Ge-on-Si virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition on an n+-Si(001) substrate. Direct-bandgap electroluminescence from the MQWs light emitting diode was observed at room temperature. The quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions is in good agreement with the theoretical calculated results. The redshift mechanism of emission wavelength related to the thermal effect is discussed.     

Direct-bandgap electroluminescence from tensile-strained Ge/SiGe multinle auantum wells at room temnerature

Tensile-strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells （MQWs） were grown on a Ge-on-Si virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition on an n＋-Si （001） substrate. Direct-bandgap electroluminescence from the MQWs light emitting diode was observed at room temperature. The quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions is in good agreement with the theoretical calculated results. The redshift mechanism of emission wavelength related to the thermal effect is discussed,     

Quasi-homoepitaxial GaN-based blue light emitting diode on thick GaN templateQuasi-homoepitaxial GaN-based blue light emitting diode on thick GaN templateQuasi-homoepitaxial GaN-based blue light emitting diode on thick GaN templateQuasi-homoepitaxial GaN-based blue light emitting diode on thick GaN template

The high power GaN-based blue light emitting diode （LED） on an 80%tm-thick GaN template is proposed and even realized by several technical methods like metal organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD）, hydride vapor-phase epi- taxial （HVPE）, and laser lift-off （LLO）. Its advantages are demonstrated from material quality and chip processing. It is investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction （XRD）, high resolution transmission electron microscope （HRTEM）, Rutherford back-scattering （RBS）, photoluminescence, current-voltage and light output-current measurements. The width of （0002） reflection in XRD rocking curve, which reaches 173＂ for the thick GaN template LED, is less than that for the conventional one, which reaches 258＂. The HRTEM images show that the multiple quantum wells （MQWs） in 80%tm- thick GaN template LED have a generally higher crystal quality. The light output at 350 mA from the thick GaN template LED is doubled compared to traditional LEDs and the forward bias is also substantially reduced. The high performance of 80-~m-thick GaN template LED depends on the high crystal quality. However, although the intensity of MQWs emission in PL spectra is doubled, both the wavelength and the width of the emission from thick GaN template LED are increased. This is due to the strain relaxation on the surface of 80%tin-thick GaN template, which changes the strain in InGaN QWs and leads to InGaN phase separation.     

Quasi-homoepitaxial GaN-based blue light emitting diode on thick GaN template

The high power GaN-based blue light emitting diode (LED) on an 80-μ-thick GaN template is proposed and even realized by several technical methods like metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), hydride vapor-phase epitaxial (HVPE), and laser lift-off (LLO). Its advantages are demonstrated from material quality and chip processing. It is investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), Rutherford back-scattering (RBS), photoluminescence, current-voltage and light output-current measurements. The width of (0002) reflection in XRD rocking curve, which reaches 173" for the thick GaN template LED, is less than that for the conventional one, which reaches 258". The HRTEM images show that the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) in 80-μm-thick GaN template LED have a generally higher crystal quality. The light output at 350 mA from the thick GaN template LED is doubled compared to traditional LEDs and the forward bias is also substantially reduced. The high performance of 80-μm-thick GaN template LED depends on the high crystal quality. However, although the intensity of MQWs emission in PL spectra is doubled, both the wavelength and the width of the emission from thick GaN template LED are increased. This is due to the strain relaxation on the surface of 80-μm-thick GaN template, which changes the strain in InGaN QWs and leads to InGaN phase separation.     

Efficiency droop alleviation in blue light emitting diodes using the InGaN/GaN triangular-shaped quantum well

The InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diode(LED) is numerically investigated using a triangular-shaped quantum well model,which involves analysis on its energy band,carrier concentration,overlap of electron and hole wave functions,radiative recombination rate,and internal quantum efficiency.The simulation results reveal that the InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diode with triangular quantum wells exhibits a higher radiative recombination rate than the conventional light emitting diode with rectangular quantum wells due to the enhanced overlap of electron and hole wave functions(above 90%) under the polarization field.Consequently,the efficiency droop is only 18% in the light emitting diode with triangular-shaped quantum wells,which is three times lower than that in a conventional LED.     

Efficiency enhancement of InGaN based blue light emitting diodes with InGaN/GaN multilayer barriers

The advantages of InGaN based light-emitting diodes with InGaN/GaN multilayer barriers are studied.It is found that the structure with InGaN/GaN multilayer barriers shows improved light output power,lower current leakage,and less efficiency droop over its conventional InGaN/GaN counterparts.Based on the numerical simulation and analysis,these improvements on the electrical and the optical characteristics are mainly attributed to the alleviation of the electrostatic field in the quantum wells(QWs) when the InGaN/GaN multilayer barriers are used.     

Strain Effect on Photoluminescences from InGaN MQWs with Different Barriers Grown by MOCVD

InGaN/GaN MQWs, InGaN/AlGaN MQWs and InGaN/AlInGaN MQWs are grown on （0001） sapphire substrates by MOCVD. Membrane samples are fabricated by laser lift-off technology. The photoluminescence spec-ra of membranes show a blue shift of peak positions in InGaN/GaN MQWs, a red shift of peak positions in InGaN/AlGaN MQWs and no shift of peak positions in InGaN/AIlnGaN MQWs from those of samples with substrates. Different changes in Raman scattering spectra and HR-XRD （0002） profile of InGaN/AlInGaN MQWs, from those of InGaN/GaN MQWs and InGaN/AlGaN MQWs, are observed. The fact that the strain changes differently among InGaN MQWs with different barriers is confirmed. The AIlnGaN barrier could adjust the residual stress for the least strain-induced electric field in InGaN/AIlnGaN quantum wells.     

Droop improvement in blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with GaN/InGaN superlattice barriers

GaN/InGaN superlattice barriers are used in InGaN-based light-emitting diodes （LEDs）. The electrostatic field in the quantum wells, electron hole wavefunction overlap, carrier concentration, spontaneous emission spectrum, light-current performance curve, and internal quantum efficiency are numerically investigated using the APSYS simulation software. It is found that the structure with GaN/InGaN superlattice barriers shows improved light output power, and lower current leakage and efficiency droop. According to our numerical simulation and analysis, these improvements in the electrical and optical characteristics are mainly attributed to the alleviation of the electrostatic field in the active region.     

Growth and properties of wide spectral white light emitting diodes

Wide spectral white light emitting diodes have been designed and grown on a sapphire substrate by using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition system. Three quantum wells with blue-light-emitting, green-light-emitting and red-light-emitting structures were grown according to the design. The surface morphology of the film was observed by using atomic force microscopy. The films were characterized by their photoluminescence measurements. X-ray diffraction θ/2θ scan spectroscopy was carried out on the multi-quantum wells. The secondary fringes of the symmetric ω/2θ X-ray diffraction scan peaks indicate that the thicknesses and the alloy compositions of the individual quantum wells are repeatable throughout the active region. The room temperature photoluminescence spectra of the structures indicate that the white light emission of the multi-quantum wells is obtained. The light spectrum covers 400-700 nm, which is almost the whole visible light spectrum.     

Fabrication and Characterization of High Power InGaN Blue-Violet Lasers with an Array Structure

InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well-structure laser diodes with an array structure are successfully fabricated on sapphire substrates. The laser diode consists of four emitter stripes which share common electrodes on one laser chip. An 800-μm-long cavity is formed by cleaving the substrate along the （1100） orientation using laser scriber. The threshold current and voltage of the laser array diode are 2A and 10.5 V, respectively. A light output peak power of 12 W under pulsed current injection at room temperature is achieved. We simulate the electric properties of GaN based laser diode in a co-planar structure and the results show that minimizing the difference of distances between the different ridges and the n-electrode and increasing the electrical conductivity of the n-type GaN are two effective ways to improve the uniformity of carrier distribution in emitter stripes. Two pairs of emitters on a chip are arranged to be located near the two n-electrode pads on the left and right sides, and the four stripe emitters can laser together. The laser diode shows two sharp peaks of light output at 408 and 409 nm above the threshold current. The full widths at half maximum for the parallel and perpendicular far field patterns are 8° and 32°, respectively.     

Effects of hole-injection through side-walls of large V-pits on efficiency droop in Ⅲ–nitride LEDs

Although the solid-state lighting market is growing rapidly, it is still difficult to obtain ultra-high brightness white light emitting diodes(LEDs). V-pits are inevitably introduced during the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD)growth of multiple quantum wells(MQWs) in Ⅲ–nitride LEDs, and thus affecting the carrier dynamics of the LEDs.Specifically designed structures are fabricated to study the influence of the V-pits on the hole transportation and efficiency droop, and double quantum wells(QWs) are used to monitor the transportation and distribution of holes based on their emission intensity. It is found that when compared with the planar QWs, the injection of holes into the QWs through the side walls of the V-pits changes the distribution of holes among the MQWs. This results in a higher probability of hole injection into the middle QWs and enhanced emission therein, and, consequently, a lower efficiency droop.     

Optical properties of ultra-thin InN layer embedded in InGaN matrix for light emitters

We theoretically investigate the optical properties of an ultra-thin InN layer embedded in InGaN matrix for light emitters. The peak emission wavelength extends from ultraviolet (374 nm) to green (536 nm) with InN quantum well thickness increasing from 1 monolayer to 2 monolayers, while the overlap of electron-hole wave function remains at a high level (larger than 90%). Increase of In content in InGaN matrix provides a better approach to longer wavelength emission, which only reduces the spontaneous emission rate slightly compared with the case of increasing In content of the conventional InGaN quantum well. Also, the transparency carrier density derived from gain spectrum is of the same order as that in the conventional blue laser diode. Our study provides skillful design on the development of novel structure InN-based light emitting diodes as well as laser diodes.     

Optimization of a GaN-based irregular multiple quantum well structure for a dichromatic white LED

GaN-based irregular multiple quantum well(IMQW) structures assembled two different types of QWs emitting complementary wavelengths for dichromatic white light-emitting diodes(LEDs) are optimized in order to obtain near white light emissions.The hole distributions and spontaneous emission spectra of the IMQW structures are analysed in detail by fully considering the effects of strain,well-coupling,valence band-mixing and polarization effect through employing a newly developed theoretical model from the k · p theory.Several structure parameters such as well material component,well width,layout of the wells and the thickness of barrier between different types of QWs are employed to analyse how these parameters together with the polarization effect influence the electronic and the optical properties of IMQW structure.Numerical results show that uniform hole distributions in different types of QWs are obtained when the number of the QWs emitting blue light is two,the number of the QWs emitting yellow light is one and the barrier between different types of QWs is 8nm in thickness.The near white light emission is realized using GaN-based IMQW structure with appropriate design parameters and injection level.     

Efficiency and droop improvement in a blue InGaN-based light emitting diode with a p-InGaN layer inserted in the GaN barriers

The advantages of a blue InGaN-based light-emitting diode with a p-InGaN layer inserted in the GaN barriers is studied. The carrier concentration in the quantum well, radiative recombination rate in the active region, output power, and internal quantum efficiency are investigated. The simulation results show that the InGaN-based light-emitting diode with a p-InGaN layer inserted in the barriers has better performance over its conventional counterpart and the light emitting diode with p-GaN inserted in the barriers. The improvement is due to enhanced Mg acceptor activation and enhanced hole injection into the quantum wells.     

Invariable optical properties of phosphor-free white light-emitting diode under electrical stress

This paper reports that a dual-wavelength white light-emitting diode is fabricated by using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition method. Through a 200-hours’ current stress, the reverse leakage current of this light-emitting diode increases with the aging time, but the optical properties remained unchanged despite the enhanced reverse leakage current. Transmission electron microscopy and cathodeluminescence images show that indium atoms were assembled in and around V-shape pits with various compositions, which can be ascribed to the emitted white light. Evolution of cathodeluminescence intensities under electron irradiation is also performed. Combining cathodeluminescence intensi- ties under electron irradiation and above results, the increase of leakage channels and crystalline quality degradation are realized. Although leakage channels increase with aging, potential fluctuation caused by indium aggregation can effectively avoid the impact of leakage channels. Indium aggregation can be attributed to the mechanism of preventing optical degradation in phosphor-free white light-emitting diode.     

Performance improvement of Ga N-based light-emitting diodes transferred from Si(111) substrate onto electroplating Cu submount with embedded wide p-electrodes

Crack-free Ga N/In Ga N multiple quantum wells(MQWs) light-emitting diodes(LEDs) are transferred from Si substrate onto electroplating Cu submount with embedded wide p-electrodes. The vertical-conducting n-side-up configuration of the LED is achieved by using the through-hole structure. The widened embedded p-electrode covers almost the whole transparent conductive layer(TCL), which could not be applied in the conventional p-side-up LEDs due to the electrodeshading effect. Therefore, the widened p-electrode improves the current spreading property and the uniformity of luminescence. The working voltage and series resistance are thereby reduced. The light output of embedded wide p-electrode LEDs on Cu is enhanced by 147% at a driving current of 350 m A, in comparison to conventional LEDs on Si.