Improvement of light power and efficiency droop in GaN-based LEDs using graded InGaN hole reservoir layer

InGaN-based light-emitting diodes with graded indium composition p-type InGaN hole reservoir layer (HRL) are numerically investigated using the APSYS simulation software. It is found that by gradient increasing indium composition in growth direction of the p-InGaN HRL can improve light output power, lower current leakage and efficiency droop. Based on numerical simulation and analysis, these improvements on the electrical and optical characteristics are attributed mainly to tailoring energy band in p–n junction vicinal region, and finally enhanced the hole injection efficiency and electron blocking efficiency.     

Dependence of limited radiative recombination rate of InGaN-based light-emitting diode on lattice temperature with high injection

It is observed that the radiative recombination rate in InGaN-based light-emitting diode decreases with lattice temperature increasing.The effect of lattice temperature on the radiative recombination rate tends to be stable at high injection.Thus,there should be an upper limit for the radiative recombination rate in the quantum well with the carrier concentration increasing,even under the same lattice temperature.A modified and easily used ABC-model is proposed.It describes that the slope of the radiative recombination rate gradually decreases to zero,and further reaches a negative value in a small range of lattice temperature increasing.These provide a new insight into understanding the dependence of the radiative recombination rate on lattice temperature and carrier concentration in InGaN-based light-emitting diode.     

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.     

选择性p型量子阱垒层掺杂在双波长发光二极管光谱调控中的作用

采用软件理论分析的方法对选择性p型掺杂量子阱垒层在InGaN双波长发光 二极管(LED)中的光谱调控作用进行模拟分析.分析结果表明, 选择性p型掺杂对量子阱中电子和空穴浓度分布的均衡性起到一定的调控作用, 在适当选择p型掺杂量子阱垒层层数的条件下,能够改善量子阱中载流子的 辐射复合速率, 降低溢出电子浓度,从而有效提高芯片内量子效率,并减缓内量子效率随驱动 电流增大而快速下降的趋势.随着活性层量子阱增加到特定数量, 选择性p型掺杂的调控效果更加明显, LED芯片的双波长发光峰强度达到基本均衡.     

Influence of polarization-matched AlGaInN barriers in blue InGaN light-emitting diodes

The advantages of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with low bandgap energy and polarization-matched AlGaInN barriers are demonstrated numerically. Simulation results show that, besides the common benefit of enhanced electron-hole spatial overlap in the quantum well from the polarization-matched condition, the lower bandgap energy barriers can have additional advantages of more uniform carrier distribution among quantum wells while maintaining sufficient electron confinement. The internal quantum efficiencies of all the polarization-matched structures under study exhibit less severe efficiency droop, which is presumably attributed to the suppression of Auger recombination.     

Performance enhancement of InGaN light-emitting diodes with a leakage electron recombination quantum well

An InGaN light-emitting diodes with a leakage electron recombination (LER) quantum well have been proposed and investigated numerically by using the APSYS simulation software. The simulation results indicate that the AlGaN electron blocking layer inserted between the last two quantum wells changed the carrier concentrations distribution, and the leakage electrons can be further recombined with holes in the LER quantum well which can decrease the electrons that spill out from active region. As a result, the internal quantum efficiency and light output power are markedly improved attributed to LER quantum well.     

Comparison of nitride-based dual-wavelength light- emitting diodes with an InAlN electron-blocking layer and with p-type doped barriers

The advantages of nitride-based dual-wavelength light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with an InAlN electron blocking layer (EBL) are studied. The emission spectra,carrier concentration in the quantum wells (QWs),energy band and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) are investigated. The simulation results indicate that an LED with an InAlN EBL performs better over a conventional LED with an AlGaN EBL and an LED with p-type-doped QW barriers. All of the advantages are due to the enhancement of carrier confinement and the lower electron leakage current. The simulation results also show that the efficiency droop is markedly improved and the luminous intensity is greatly enhanced when an InAlN EBL is used.     

掺杂GaN间隔层对双波长发光二极管光谱调控作用的研究

采用软件理论分析的方法对p型及n型掺杂的GaN间隔层在InGaN/GaN多量子阱双波长发光二极管中对光谱调控作用进行模拟分析.分析结果表明,掺杂的GaN间隔层的引入,可以有效地控制各阱中的电子或空穴浓度,很好地解决了双波长发光二极管中两种阱发光强度不均的问题,并且通过控制阻挡层的厚度,可以调控两种阱中的载流子浓度,从而调控发光峰的相对强度.这些可以归因于掺杂GaN间隔层对电子或空穴的阻挡作用. 关键词： GaN 间隔层 数值模拟 双波长发光二极管     

Solar energy harvesting scheme using syringe-like ZnO nanorod arrays for InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells

Syringe-like ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) synthesized by a hydrothermal method were applied as the light-harvesting layer on InGaN-based multiple quantum well (MQW) solar cells. Theoretical calculations show that the NRAs with an abrupt shrinkage of tip diameter can further suppress surface reflectance in comparison with the flat NRAs. InGaN-based MQW solar cells with the syringe-like NRAs exhibit greatly improved conversion efficiencies by 36%. These results are attributed to the improved flatness of the refractive index profile at the air/device interface, which results in enhanced light trapping effect on the device surface.     

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.     

Improved performance of InGaN light-emitting diodes with a novel sawtooth-shaped electron blocking layer

A sawtooth-shaped electron blocking layer is proposed to improve the performance of light-emitting diodes （LEDs）. The energy band diagram, the electrostatic field in the quantum well, the carrier concentration, the electron leakage, and the internal quantum efficiency are systematically studied. The simulation results show that the LED with a sawtooth-shaped electron blocking layer possesses higher output power and a smaller efficiency droop than the LED with a conventional A1GaN electron blocking layer, which is because the electron confinement is enhanced and the hole injection efficiency is improved by the appropriately modified electron blocking layer energy band.     

Electroluminescence of CdSe/CdS quantum dots and the transfer of the exciton excitation energy in an organic light-emitting diode

A light emitting diode has been developed on the basis of multilayer nanostructures in which CdSe/CdS semiconductor colloidal quantum dots serve as emitters. Their absorption, photo-, and electroluminescence spectra have been obtained. The strong influence of the size effect and the density of particles in the layer on the spectral and electrophysical characteristics of the diode has been demonstrated. It has been shown that the rates of the transfer of the exciton excitation energy from organic molecules to quantum dots increase strongly even at a small increase in the radius of the core (CdSe) of a particle and depend strongly on the thickness of the shell (CdS) of the particle. The optimal arrangement of the layer of quantum dots with respect to the p-n junction has been estimated from the experimental data. The results demonstrate that the spectral characteristics and rates of the electron processes in light-emitting devices based on quantum dots incorporated into an organic matrix can be efficiently controlled.     

Organic light-emitting diode with an emitter based on a planar layer of CdSe semiconductor nanoplatelets

Colloidal CdSe semiconductor nanoplatelets with characteristic longitudinal sizes of 20–70 nm and thicknesses of several atomic layers are synthesized. The spectra and kinetics of the photoluminescence of these quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures (quantum wells) at room and cryogenic temperatures are investigated. A hybrid light-emitting diode with the electron and hole transport layers based on TAZ and TPD organic compounds, respectively, and the active “emissive” element based on a layer of such single-component nanoplatelets is designed. The spectral and electrical characteristics of the fabricated device, emitting at a wavelength of λ = 515 nm, are determined. The use of quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures of this kind (nanoplatelets) is promising for the fabrication of hybrid light-emitting diodes with pure colors.     

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.     

High efficiency and enhanced ESD properties of UV LEDs by inserting p-GaN/p-AlGaN superlattice

Significantly improved electrostatic discharge(ESD)properties of InGaN/GaN-based UV light-emitting diode(LED)with inserting p-GaN/p-AlGaN superlattice(p-SLs)layers(instead of p-AlGaN single layer)between multiple quantum wells and Mg-doped GaN layer are reported.The pass yield of the LEDs increased from 73.53%to 93.81%under negative 2000 V ESD pulses.In addition,the light output power(LOP)and efficiency droop at high injection current were also improved.The mechanism of the enhanced ESD properties was then investigated.After excluding the effect of capacitance modulation,high-resolution X-ray diffraction(XRD)and atomic force microscope(AFM)measurements demonstrated that the dominant mechanism of the enhanced ESD properties is the material quality improved by p-SLs,which indicated less leakage paths,rather than the current spreading improved by p-SLs.     

A highly efficient white-light-emitting diode based on a two-component polyfluorene/quantum dot composite

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are attracting great interest of the scientific community and industry because they can be grown on flexible substrates using relatively simple and inexpensive technologies (solution processes). However, a problem in the fabrication of white OLEDs is that it is difficult to achieve a balance between the intensities of individual emission components in the blue, green, and red spectral regions. In this work, we try to solve this problem by creating a two-component light-emitting diode based on modified polyfluorene (PF-BT), which efficiently emits in the blue–green region, and CdSe/ZnS/CdS/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots emitting in the orange–red region with a fluorescence quantum yield exceeding 90%. By changing the mass ratio of components in the active light-emitting composite within 40–50%, it is possible to transform the diode emission spectrum from cold to warm white light without loss of the diode efficiency. It is very likely that optimization of the morphology of multilayer light-emitting diodes will lead to further improvement of their characteristics.     

White light-emitting quantum dot diodes and tuning of luminescence processes

A novel white light-emitting diode based on a large Stokes shift (~200 nm) and using pure green light-emitting CdSeS quantum dots (QDs) with an Ag/ZnSnO/QDs/spiro-TPD/ITO structure has been fabricated in which ZnSnO and spiro-TPD are served as the electron and hole transport layer, respectively. The large Stokes shift of the CdSeS QDs excludes potentially Förster resonance energy transfer process, which allows spiro-TPD to act as both an emitter and hole transport layer. The devices exhibit a wide EL spectrum consisting of three components: blue emission from spiro-TPD, green emission from QD band–band recombination, and red emission from QD surface-state recombination. We further found that as the intensity ratios among these three components vary with bias the color of the QD light-emitting diodes is tunable. The device displays a good white light-emitting characteristic with CIE coordinates of (0.281, 0.384) at an appropriate bias.     

p-GaN插入层调控InGaN基黄绿双波长LED发光光谱

采用MOCVD技术在硅衬底上生长了含有7个黄光量子阱和1个绿光量子阱的混合有源区结构的InGaN基黄绿双波长LED外延材料,研究了电子阻挡层前p-GaN插入层厚度对黄绿双波长LED载流子分布及外量子效率(EQE)的影响。通过LED变温电致发光测试系统对LED光电性能进行了表征。结果表明,100 K小电流时随着电流密度的增大,三组样品的绿光峰与黄光峰相对强度的比值越来越大,且5.5 A·cm^-2的电流密度下,随着温度从300 K逐步降低至100 K,三组样品的绿光峰与黄光峰相对强度的比值也越来越大,说明其载流子都在更靠近p型层的位置发生辐射复合。三组样品的p-GaN插入层厚度为0,10,30 nm时,EQE峰值依次为29.9%、29.2%和28.2%,呈现依次减小的趋势,归因于p-GaN插入层厚度越大,p型层越远离有源区,空穴注入也越浅。电子阻挡层前p-GaN插入层可以有效减小器件EL光谱中绿光峰随着电流密度增加时峰值波长的蓝移(33 nm),实现了对低温发光光谱的调控。     

Ion beam assisted deposition of organic molecules: a physical way to realize OLED structures

We demonstrate how the quantum efficiency of an organic light-emitting diode can be improved by a physical way based on the ion beam assisted deposition: the recombination current can be increased by an enhancement of the minority carrier injection while the total current can be decreased by generation of electron traps which reduced the majority current. The quantum efficiency of fluorescence can be also improved by a layer densification with a limitation of the nonradiative centers. As a result, the quantum efficiency of the structure ITO/Helium assisted Alq3/unassisted Alq3/Ca/Al is improved (by around a factor 10) in relation with a virgin structure.     

Broadband Light-Emitting Diodes with One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Layer

In this article, a broadband gallium-nitride-based light-emitting diode with a one-dimensional photonic crystal layer is investigated. The broadband light-emitting diode using the proposed backside reflector has high reflectance (>95%) over a 270-nm bandwidth in visible light at an arbitrary incidence angle. A broadband light-emitting diode of high output power due to the high reflectivity is achieved. Also reported are the results for light-emitting diodes by the transistor outline can (TO-can) package. The proposed light-emitting diodes possess broadband high reflected spectra, high output power for light extraction, and a good view angle.