Effect of carrier spillover and Auger recombination on the efficiency droop in InGaN-based blue LEDs

We have investigated efficiency droop in InGaN-based blue LEDs by considering radiative, nonradiative, and carrier spillover processes in the context of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) vs. injection current. If relied on fitting only, both the Auger recombination and an empirical formula for carrier spillover are consistent with experiments. However, the dependence of IQE on quantum well parameters and lack of droop in optical pumping experiments support the notion that carrier spillover is the main mechanism in play.     

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。     

Modeling and analysis of the effects of inhomogeneous carrier distributions in InGaN multiple quantum wells

It is well known that carrier distribution in InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) can be significantly inhomogeneous. However, the conventional ABC recombination model assumes that carriers are uniformly distributed throughout the MQW. In this paper, a modified ABC model that considers the unequal carrier density in the QWs was developed. From the analysis of the developed ABC model, the effective recombination coefficients and modified internal quantum efficiency (IQE) were obtained for an arbitrary carrier distribution in MQWs. The efficiency droop was found to be aggravated as the carrier distribution was increasingly inhomogeneous. However, it was also found that the effect of inhomogeneous carrier distribution alone was not sufficient to explain the IQE droop with the theoretical Auger recombination coefficient based on indirect Auger processes. The developed ABC model is expected to provide insight into the influence of inhomogeneous carrier distributions in MQWs on the efficiency droop in GaN-based light-emitting diodes.     

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。     

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.     

Investigation of InGaN green light-emitting diodes with chirped multiple quantum well structures

The effect of using chirped multiple quantum-well (MQW) structures in InGaN green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is numerically investigated. An active structure, which is with both thick QWs with low indium composition on the p-side and thin QWs with high indium composition next to the n-region, is presented in this study. The thickness and indium composition in each single QW is specifically tuned to emit the same green emission spectrum. Comparing with conventional active structure design of green LEDs, which is using uniform MQWs, the output power is increased by 27% at 20 mA, and by 15% at 100 mA current injections. This improvement is mainly attributed to the enhanced efficiency of carrier injection into QWs and the improved capability of carrier transport.     

In组分渐变提高InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光二极管发光性能

利用金属有机物化学气相沉积系统在蓝宝石衬底上通过有源层的变温生长,得到In组分渐变的量子阱结构,从而获得具有三角形能带结构的InGaN/GaN多量子阱发光二极管(LED)(简称三角形量子阱结构LED).变温光致发光谱结果表明,相对于传统具有方形能带结构的量子阱LED(简称方形量子阱结构LED),三角形量子阱结构有效提高了量子阱中电子和空穴波函数的空间交叠,从而增加了LED的内量子效率;电致发光谱结果表明,三角形量子阱结构LED器件与传统结构LED器件相比,明显改善了发光峰值波长随着电流的蓝移现象.通过以上     

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.     

Auger carrier leakage in III‐nitride quantum‐well light emitting diodes

Auger induced leakage is shown to be a contributing factor for the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) droop in III‐nitride quantum‐well light emitting diodes (LEDs). The mechanism is based on leakage current from carrier spill‐out of the well originating from energy transfer during Auger recombination. Adding this leakage reduces the Auger coefficient by 50% when compared to a standard Auger model with cubic density dependence. As reference, experimental data of a green quantum‐well LED are taken. Direct leakage due to non‐ideal carrier capture and re‐emission out of the well affects the IQE at current densities much larger than the maximum IQE point. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Variation of efficiency droop with quantum well thickness in In GaN/GaN green light-emitting diode

In GaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) green light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with varying In GaN quantum well layer thickness are fabricated and characterized. The investigation of luminescence efficiency versus injection current reveals that several physical mechanisms may jointly influence the efficiency droop, resulting in a non-monotonic variation of droop behavior with increasing quantum well(QW) thickness. When the QW is very thin, the increase of In GaN well layer thickness makes the efficiency droop more serious due to the enhancement of polarization effect. When the QW thickness increases further, however, the droop is alleviated significantly, which is mainly ascribed to the enhanced nonradiative recombination process and the weak delocalization effect.     

Investigation of wavelength-dependent efficiency droop in InGaN light-emitting diodes

The physical mechanisms leading to the efficiency droop of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are theoretically investigated. We first discuss the effect of Auger recombination loss on efficiency droop by taking different Auger coefficients into account. It is found that the Auger recombination process plays a significant nonradiative part for carriers at typical LED operation currents when the Auger coefficient is on the order of 10⁻³⁰ cm⁶ s⁻¹. Furthermore, the InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) LEDs with varied indium compositions in InGaN quantum wells are studied to analyze the wavelength-dependent efficiency droop. The simulation results show that the wavelength-dependent efficiency droop is caused by several different effects including non-uniform carrier distribution, electron overflow, built-in electrostatic field induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization, and Auger recombination loss. These internal physical mechanisms are the critical factors resulting in the wavelength-dependent efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs.     

Performance improvement of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with a specially designed n-AlGaN hole blocking layer

Blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a conventional electron blocking layer (EBL), a common n-AlGaN hole blocking layer (HBL), and an n-AlGaN HBL with gradual Al composition are investigated numerically, which involves analyses of the carrier concentration in the active region, energy band diagram, electrostatic field, and internal quantum efficiency (IQE). The results indicate that LEDs with an n-AlGaN HBL with gradual Al composition exhibit better hole injection efficiency, lower electron leakage, and a smaller electrostatic field in the active region than LEDs with a conventional p-AlGaN EBL or a common n-AlGaN HBL. Meanwhile, the efficiency droop is alleviated when an n-AlGaN HBL with gradual Al composition is used.     

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.     

Current diffusion and efficiency droop in vertical light emitting diodes

Current diffusion is an old issue, nevertheless, the relationship between the current diffusion and the efficiency of light emitting diodes(LEDs) needs to be further quantitatively clarified. By incorporating current crowding effect(CCE) into the conventional ABC model, we have theoretically and directly correlated the current diffusion and the internal quantum efficiency(IQE), light extraction efficiency(LEE), and external quantum efficiency(EQE) droop of the lateral LEDs.However, questions still exist for the vertical LEDs(V-LEDs). Here firstly the current diffusion length L_s(I) and L_s(II) have been clarified. Based on this, the influence of CCE on the EQE, IQE, and LEE of V-LEDs were investigated. Specifically to our V-LEDs with moderate series resistivity, L_s(III) was developed by combining L_s(I) and L_s(II), and the CCE effect on the performance of V-LEDs was investigated. The wall-plug efficiency(WPE) of V-LEDs ware investigated finally. Our works provide a deep understanding of the current diffusion status and the correlated efficiency droop in V-LEDs, thus would benefit the V-LEDs' chip design and further efficiency improvement.     

Enhanced performance of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with InGaN/GaN superlattice barriers

GaN-based multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes （LEDs） with conventional and superlattice barriers have been investigated numerically. Simulation results demonstrate using InGaN/GaN superlattices as barriers can effectively enhance performances of the GaN-Based LEDs, mainly owing to the improvement of hole injection and transport among the MQW active region. Meanwhile, the improved electron capture decreases the electron leakage and alleviates the efficiency droop. The weak polarization field induced by the superlattice structure strengthens the intensity of the emission spectrum and leads to a blue-shift relative to the conventional one.     

Efficiency enhancement of an InGaN light-emitting diode with a p-AlGaN/GaN superlattice last quantum barrier

In this study,the efficiency droop of an InGaN light-emitting diode(LED)is reduced significantly by using a pAlGaN/GaN superlattice last quantum barrier.The reduction in efficiency droop is mainly caused by the decrease of electron current leakage and the increase of hole injection efficiency,which is revealed by investigating the light currents,internal quantum efficiencies,energy band diagrams,carrier concentrations,carrier current densities,and radiative recombination efficiencies of three LED structures with the advanced physical model of semiconductor device(APSYS).     

Advantages of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes without an electron-blocking layer by using AlGaN step-like barriers

With the purpose to increase the uniformity of carrier distribution without sacrificing the enhancement of carrier injection efficiency, the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) without an electron-blocking layer (EBL) by using AlGaN step-like barriers (SLBs) is proposed and investigated numerically. The simulation results show that the enhanced electron confinement and hole injection efficiency are mainly attributed to the mitigated downward band bending induced by polarization field at the interface of the last barrier and EBL and the increased carrier distribution uniformity is due to step-like potential height for carrier of the new designed LEDs. In addition, the distribution of radiative recombination rate and the efficiency droop are markedly improved when the conventional GaN barriers are replaced by AlGaN SLBs and the EBL is removed.     

Enhancement of light-emission efficiency of ultraviolet InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diode with InGaN underlying layer

Two ultraviolet InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) with and without InGaN underlying layer beneath the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) were grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Based on the photoluminescence excitation measurements, it was found that the Stokes shift of the sample with a 10-nm-thick In_0.1Ga_0.9N underlying layer was about 64 meV, which was smaller than that of the reference sample without InGaN underlying layer, indicating a reduced quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) due to the decrease of the piezoelectric polarization field in the MQWs. In addition, by fitting the photon energy dependence of carrier lifetime values, the radiative recombination lifetime of the sample with and without InGaN underlying layer were obtained about 1.22 and 1.58 ns at 10?K, respectively. The shorter carrier lifetime also confirmed that the QCSE in the MQWs was weakened after inserting the InGaN underlying layer. In addition, although the depth of carrier localization in the sample with InGaN underlying layer became smaller, the nonradiative recombination centers (NRCs) inside it decreased, and thus suppressed the nonradiative recombination process significantly according to the electroluminescence measurement results. Compared to the reference sample, the efficiency droop behavior was delayed in the sample with InGaN underlying layer and the droop effect was also effectively alleviated. Therefore, the enhanced light-emission efficiency of ultraviolet InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs could be attributed to the decrease of QCSE and NRCs.     

Improved performance of near UV light-emitting diodes with a composition-graded p-AlGaN irregular sawtooth electron-blocking layer

We investigate the performances of the near-ultraviolet(about 350 nm-360 nm) light-emitting diodes(LEDs) each with specifically designed irregular sawtooth electron blocking layer(EBL) by using the APSYS simulation program.The internal quantum efficiencies(IQEs),light output powers,carrier concentrations in the quantum wells,energy-band diagrams,and electrostatic fields are analyzed carefully.The results indicate that the LEDs with composition-graded pAl_xGa_(1-x)N irregular sawtooth EBLs have better performances than their counterparts with stationary component p-AlGaN EBLs.The improvements can be attributed to the improved polarization field in EBL and active region as well as the alleviation of band bending in the EBL/p-AlGaN interface,which results in less electron leakage and better hole injection efficiency,thus reducing efficiency droop and enhancing the radiative recombination rate.     

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.