Rapid optical measurement of surface texturing result of crystalline silicon wafers for high efficiency solar cells application

Surface texturing of crystalline silicon (c-Si wafers) wafers is a frequently used technique in high efficiency solar cells processing to reduce the light reflectance. Measuring the surface texturing result is important in the manufacturing process of high efficiency solar cells because the surface texturing of c-Si wafers is sensitive to the performance of reducing front reflection. Traditional approach for measuring surface roughness of texturing of c-Si wafers is atomic force microscopy. The disadvantage of this approach include long lead-time and slow measurement speed. To solve this problem, an optical inspection system for rapid measuring the surface roughness of texturing of c-Si wafers is proposed in this study. It is found that the incident angle of 60° is a good candidate for measuring surface roughness of texturing of c-Si wafers and y = ?188.62x + 70.987 is a trend equation for predicting the surface roughness of texturing of c-Si wafers. Roughness average (Ra) of texturing of c-Si wafers (y) can be directly determined from the peak power density (x) using the optical inspection system developed. The results were verified by atomic force microscopy. The measurement error of the optical inspection system developed is approximately 0.89%. The saving in inspection time of the surface roughness of texturing of c-Si wafers is up to 87.5%.     

Tuning a nano-pillar array for enhancing the photoluminescence extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes

We demonstrate the fabrication of hexagonal nano-pillar arrays at the surface of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by nanosphere lithography. By varying the oxygen plasma etching time, we could tune the size and shape of the pillar. The nano-pillar has a truncated cone shape. The nano-pillar array serves as a gradual effective refractive index matcher, which reduces the reflection and increases light cone. It is found that the patterned surface absorbs more pumping light. To compare extraction efficiencies of LEDs, it is necessary to normalize the photoluminescence power spectrum with total absorption rate under fixed pumping power, then we could obtain the correct enhancement factor of the photoluminescence extraction efficiency and optimized structure. The highest enhancement factor of the extraction efficiency is 10.6.     

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.     

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 electrical and thermal properties of Ag contacts for GaN-based flip-chip light-emitting diodes by using a NiZn alloy capping layer

We investigate the effect of a 100 nm-thick NiZn alloy (10 wt% Zn) capping layer on the thermal and electrical properties of Ag reflectors (200 nm) for flip-chip light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It is shown that the introduction of the NiZn capping layer minimizes the formation of interfacial voids and surface agglomeration. Furthermore, LEDs fabricated with the NiZn-capping-layer-combined contacts produce better output power as compared to those with the Ag only reflectors. For example, the LEDs with the 400 ^°C-annealed Ag/NiZn contacts give higher output power by ∼36% than those with the 400 ^°C-annealed Ag only contacts. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy measurements are performed to understand the improved electrical properties of the LEDs fabricated with the NiZn-capping-layer-combined Ag contacts.     

Enhanced light extraction of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with periodic textured SiO_2 on Al-doped ZnO transparent conductive layer

We report an effective enhancement in light extraction of Ga N-based light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with an Al-doped Zn O(AZO) transparent conductive layer by incorporating a top regular textured SiO_2 layer. The 2 inch transparent throughpore anodic aluminum oxide(AAO) membrane was fabricated and used as the etching mask. The periodic pore with a pitch of about 410 nm was successfully transferred to the surface of the SiO_2 layer without any etching damages to the AZO layer and the electrodes. The light output power was enhanced by 19% at 20 m A and 56% at 100 m A compared to that of the planar LEDs without a patterned surface. This approach offers a technique to fabricate a low-cost and large-area regular pattern on the LED chip for achieving enhanced light extraction without an obvious increase of the forward voltage.     

工业级纳米绒面多晶硅太阳电池的制备及其性能研究

基于产线工艺制备了纳米绒面多晶硅太阳电池,并表征其光电转换性能。研究结果表明：相对传统微米绒坑,纳米绒面能够提升多晶硅太阳电池的短路电流,相应的光电转换效率绝对值提升大于0.4%,产线均值光电转换效率超过了19.1%。结合漫反射光谱和外量子效率测试结果,改进的光电转换的原因归结为纳米绒面能够有效地诱捕短波和长波太阳光子,增强短波和长波太阳光响应。本研究证实纳米绒面多晶硅太阳电池可利用产线工艺制备且具有较高的光电转换效率,能够实现产业化。     

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.     

GaN-based light-emitting diodes directly grown on sapphire substrate with holographically generated two-dimensional photonic crystal patterns

As an approach to enhance light extraction from GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs), we inserted a submicron period photonic crystal (PC) pattern at the interface between GaN epilayer and sapphire substrate. A two-dimensional square-lattice pillar array of 600-nm period was produced directly onto the sapphire substrate by a combination of laser holography and inductively-coupled-plasma etching. A standard GaN LED heterostructure was grown on top of the nano-patterned substrate, which was then processed to conventional bottom-emitting LED chips. At the drive current of 20 mA, the PC-LED produced surface-normal output power about 40% higher than that of the reference LED (with no PC integrated). Temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurement indicated that the emission enhancement was solely a structural effect by the integrated PC pattern.     

3D simulation of InGaN/GaN micro-ring light-emitting diodes

We employed the APSYS software to perform 3D electrical and ray-tracing simulations on micro-ring light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to verify previous experimental findings that they have higher extraction efficiency than micro-disk and broad area LEDs. 3D ray-tracing indicates the importance of inter-ring optical interactions. Furthermore we found that the higher light extraction efficiency is at the expense of reduced internal quantum efficiency (IQE) as injection current is increased.     

AlGaInP-Si glue bonded high performance light emitting diodes

We propose a new method of using conductive glue to agglutinate GaAs based AlGaInP light emitting diodes (LEDs) onto silicon substrate,and the absorbing GaAs layer is subsequently removed by grinding and selective wet etching.It was found that AlGaInP-Si glue agglutinated LEDs have larger saturation current and luminous intensity than the conventional LEDs working at the same injected current.The luminous intensity of the new device is as much as 1007.4 mcd at a saturation current of 125 mA without being encapsulated,while the conventional LEDs only have 266.2 mcd at a saturation current of 105 mA.The luminescence intensity is also found to increase by about 3.2% after working at 50 mA for 768 h.This means that the new structured LEDs have good reliability performance.     

Enhanced light output of InGaN LEDs with a roughened p-GaN surface using different TMGa flow rates in p-AlGaN layer

We have demonstrated the enhancement of light output of InGaN-based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using different trimethylgallium (TMGa) flow rates in the growth of p-AlGaN epilayer to facilitate a rougher p-GaN surface. It is found that higher output power can be achieved from the LEDs with rougher surface morphologies when the TMGa flow rate (R_TMGa) is increased up to 60 sccm during p-Al_0.05Ga_0.95N epilayer growth. Such a rough surface obtained at higher R_TMGa is attributed to the fact that the vertical growth rate is faster than the lateral growth rate, thus, leading to the facet of crystal growth focuses mainly in the vertical direction. The output power of devices biased at 20 mA is 15.4, 15.9, 17.5, and 18.9 mW for TMGa flow rates of 10, 20, 40, and 60 sccm, respectively.     

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%。     

Improved Light Extraction of GaN-based LEDs with Nano-roughened p-GaN Surfaces

p-GaN surfaces axe nano-roughened by plasma etching to improve the optical performance of GaN-based light emitting diodes （LEDs）. The nano-roughened GaN present a relaxation of stress. The light extraction of the LEDs with nano-roughened surfaces is greatly improved when compared with that of the conventional LEDs without nano-roughening. PL-mapping intensities of the nano-roughened LED epi-wafers for different roughening times present two to ten orders of enhancement. The light output powers are also higher for the nano-roughened LED devices, This improvement is attributed to that nano-roughened surfaces can provide photons multiple chances to escape from the LED surfaces,     

Optical characteristics of light-emitting diodes with high transparent conductive film at low temperatures

In this paper, we report the synthesis and transmittance of a titanium–indium–tin oxide (TITO) film, fabricated through a low-temperature process. The TITO film was fabricated by incorporating a 2-nm-thick titanium barrier at the bottom of an ITO film. The transmittance characteristics of the TITO film were examined for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of various wavelengths at different post-annealing temperatures. A saturated high transmittance was observed at a temperature of 550 °C, which is relatively low when compared to that in the case of a conventional ITO film. Photoluminescence studies demonstrated that a 450-nm-thick TITO film, fabricated at 550 °C, was highly effective in improving the performance of the LED, when compared to conventional ITO films. The X-ray diffraction peaks, scanning electron microscopy images, and transmittance electron microscopy images confirmed that titanium atoms could improve the crystallization of ITO. It was found that non-crystallization in ITO was effectively activated by the titanium barrier. Furthermore, the optical bandgap (3.77 eV for the conventional ITO film) was improved to 3.92 eV in the TITO film. An infrared LED fabricated with a TITO film displayed 70% higher light output power than that with a conventional ITO film. These results suggest that using a titanium barrier is essential to effectively improve inactive nucleation sites in ITO films grown at low temperatures.     

Surface Light Extraction Mapping from Photonic Quasicrystal on Current Two-Dimensional Array of 12-Fold Injected GaN-Based LEDs

A two-dimensional array of dodecagonal photonic quasicrystal （12PQC） is fabricated on the surface of current injected GaN-based LEDs to out-couple guided modes. The spatially-resolved surface light extraction mapping of 12PQC is observed and compared with that of triangular lattice photonic crystal （3PC） by microscopic electrical luminescence and scanning near-field microscopy. The higher enhancement factor of 12PQC is obtained to be larger than that of 3PC. It is shown that 12PQC is more favourable and efficient for light extraction of guided lights.     

Enhancing light extraction of GaN-based blue light-emitting diodes by a tuned nanopillar array

Surface patterning of p-GaN to improve the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based blue light-emitting diodes(LEDs) has been investigated. Periodic nanopillar arrays on p-GaN have been fabricated by polystyrene(PS) nanosphere lithography; the diameter of the nanopillars can be tuned to optimize the electrical and optical properties of the LEDs. The electroluminescence intensity of the nanopillar-patterned LEDs is better than that of conventional LEDs; the greatest enhancement increased the intensity by a factor of 1.41 at a 20 mA injection current. The enhancements can be explained by a model of bilayer film on a GaN substrate. This method may serve as a practical approach to improve the efficiency of light extraction from LEDs.     

Simulation of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes with patterned sapphire substrate

Blue InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) are simulated by the APSYS software. Approach of combining finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and raytracing technique is applied to perform light extraction. The simulation results show that PSS dramatically increases extraction efficiency of light power, in agreement with experiment. It is found that extraction efficiency can be maximized by changing the shape of PSS. This work presents a new approach to combine electrical simulation with FDTD and raytracing in 3D TCAD simulation of GaN-LED.     

Improved light extraction of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with surface-patterned ITO

The surface patterning of the indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent current layer has been investigated to improve the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs with periodic micro-hexagon patterned ITO have been fabricated utilizing standard lithography techniques and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technology. The luminance intensity of the LED chips with patterned ITO following 160 s ICP etching was enhanced by about 50% compared to the LED chips with unpatterned ITO. Detailed processing parameters are provided. scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to examine the micro-structures. The results indicate that the surface-patterned ITO technique could have potential applications in high-power GaN-based LEDs.     

新型AlGaInP系发光二极管饱和特性与寿命的研究

针对AlGaInP系发光二极管(LED)电极阻挡出光、衬底吸收、全反射角小导致器件出光效率低、热积累大、饱和特性差等问题,提出了一种具有复合电流输运增透窗口层、复合DBR反射镜和电流阻挡层结构的新型LED,并测试了其饱和特性和寿命.电流分布模拟显示:新型LED电极下仅存在极小的无效电流;实验结果表明新型LED出光效率高,饱和电流大,饱和电流时光强约为常规LED的3倍,光电性能明显提升.器件饱和特性和老化实验研究显示:新型LED寿命长达17.8×104h,器件内部发热量低,具有高饱和特性和高可靠性,适合在大电流大功率下工作.