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.     

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.     

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)     

Status of GaN-based green light-emitting diodes

GaN-based blue light emitting diodes(LEDs) have undergone great development in recent years,but the improvement of green LEDs is still in progress.Currently,the external quantum efficiency(EQE) of GaN-based green LEDs is typically30%,which is much lower than that of top-level blue LEDs.The current challenge with regard to GaN-based green LEDs is to grow a high quality In GaN quantum well(QW) with low strain.Many techniques of improving efficiency are discussed,such as inserting Al GaN between the QW and the barrier,employing prestrained layers beneath the QW and growing semipolar QW.The recent progress of GaN-based green LEDs on Si substrate is also reported:high efficiency,high power green LEDs on Si substrate with 45.2% IQE at 35 A/cm2,and the relevant techniques are detailed.     

Internal quantum efficiency drop induced by the heat generation inside of light emitting diodes （LEDs）

The reasons for low output power of AlGaInP Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have been analysed. LEDs with AlGaInP material have high internal but low external quantum efficiency and much heat generated inside especially at a large injected current which would reduce both the internal and external quantum efficiencies. Two kinds of LEDs with the same active region but different window layers have been fabricated. The new window layer composed of textured 0.5 μm GaP and thin Indium-Tin-Oxide film has shown that low external quantum efficiency (EQE) has serious impaction on the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), because the carrier distribution will change with the body temperature increasing due to the heat inside, and the test results have shown the evidence of LEDs with lower output power and bigger wavelength red shift.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Enhanced performance of InGaN light-emitting diodes with InGaN and composition-graded InGaN interlayers

The effects of InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with InGaN and composition-graded InGaN interlayers in the space of multiple quantum wells and electron blocking layer are studied numerically. The electrostatic field, energy band diagrams, carrier concentrations, light–current–voltage performances, and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) are investigated. Simulation results show that the light output power and IQE are both largely improved over the conventional LED structure due to the improvement in hole injection efficiency and electron blocking capability, especially for the LED with composition-graded InGaN interlayer.     

Effects of Mg doping in the quantum barriers on the efficiency droop of GaN based light emitting diodes

The effects of Mg doping in the quantum barriers(QBs) on the efficiency droop of GaN based light emitting diodes(LEDs) were investigated through a duel wavelength method. Barrier Mg doping would lead to the enhanced hole transportation and reduced polarization field in the quantum wells(QWs), both may reduce the efficiency droop. However,heavy Mg doping in the QBs would strongly deteriorate the crystal quality of the QWs grown after the doped QB. When increasing the injection current, the carriers would escape from the QWs between n-GaN and the doped QB and recombine non-radiatively in the QWs grown after the doped QB, leading to a serious efficiency droop.     

Electron leakage effects on GaN-based light-emitting diodes

Nitride-based light-emitting diodes suffer from a reduction (droop) of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) with increasing injection current. Using advanced device simulation, we investigate the impact of electron leakage on the IQE droop for different properties of the electron blocker layer (EBL). The simulations show a strong influence of the EBL acceptor density on the droop. We also find that the electron leakage decreases with increasing temperature, which contradicts common assumptions.     

Current spreading in GaN-based light-emitting diodes

We have investigated the factors affecting the current spreading length(CSL) in GaN-based light-emitting diodes(LEDs) by deriving theoretical expressions and performing simulations with APSYS.For mesa-structure LEDs,the effects of both indium tin oxide(ITO) and n-GaN are taken into account for the first time,and a new Q factor is introduced to explain the effects of different current flow paths on the CSL.The calculations and simulations show that the CSL can be enhanced by increasing the thickness of the ITO layer and resistivity of the n-GaN layer,or by reducing the resistivity of the ITO layer and thickness of the n-GaN layer.The results provide theoretical support for calculating the CSL clearly and directly.For vertical-structure LEDs,the effects of resistivity and thickness of the CSL on the internal quantum efficiency(IQE) have been analyzed.The theoretical expression relating current density and the parameters(resistivity and thickness)of the CSL is obtained,and the results are then verified by simulation.The IQE under different current injection conditions is discussed.The effects of CSL resistivity play a key role at high current injection,and there is an optimal thickness for the largest IQE only at a low current injection.     

硅衬底InGaN/GaN基蓝光发光二极管droop效应的研究

InGaN/GaN基阱垒结构LED当注入的电流密度较大时, LED的量子效率随注入电流密度增大而下降, 即droop效应.本文在Si (111)衬底上生长了 InGaN/GaN 基蓝光多量子阱结构的LED,通过将实验测量的光电性能曲线与利用ABC模型模拟的结果进行对比, 探讨了droop效应的成因.结果显示:温度下降会阻碍电流扩展和降低空穴浓度, 电子在阱中分布会越来越不平衡,阱中局部区域中因填充了势能越来越高的电子而溢出阱外, 从而使droop效应随着温度的降低在更小的电流密度下出现且更为严重, 不同温度下实验值与俄歇复合模型模拟的结果在高注入时趋势相反.这此结果表明,引起 droop效应的主因不是俄歇非辐射复合而是电子溢出,电子溢出的本质原因是载流子在阱中分布不均衡.     

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.     

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。     

量子阱生长气压对InGaN/GaN黄光LED光电性能的影响

采用MOCVD技术在图形化硅衬底上生长了InGaN/GaN多量子阱黄光LED外延材料,研究了不同的量子阱生长气压对黄光LED光电性能的影响。使用高分辨率X射线衍射仪（HRXRD）和荧光显微镜（FL）对晶体质量进行了表征,使用电致发光系统积分球测试对光电性能进行了表征。结果表明：随着气压升高,In的并入量略有降低且均匀性更好,量子阱中的点缺陷数目降低,但是阱垒间界面质量有所下降。在实验选取的4个气压4,6.65,10,13.3 kPa下,外量子效率最大值随着量子阱生长气压的上升而显著升高,分别为16.60%、23.07%、26.40%、27.66%,但是13.3 kPa下生长的样品在大电流下EQE随电流droop效应有所加剧,在20 A·cm^-2的工作电流下,样品A、B、C、D的EQE分别为16.60%、19.77%、20.03%、19.45%,10 kPa下生长的量子阱的整体光电性能最好。     

Blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with dip-shaped quantum wells

InGaN based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with dip-shaped quantum wells and conventional rectangular quantum wells are numerically investigated by using the APSYS simulation software. It is found that the structure with dip-shaped quantum wells shows improved light output power, lower current leakage and less efficiency droop. Based on numerical simulation and analysis, these improvements on the electrical and the optical characteristics are attributed mainly to the alleviation of the electrostatic field in dip-shaped InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs).     

It's not easy being green: Strategies for all‐nitrides,all‐colour solid state lighting

The design strategy presently employed to obtain ‘white’ light from semiconductors combines the emission of an InGaN blue or UV light‐emitting diode (LED) with that of one or more yellow‐orange phosphors. While commercially successful, this approach achieves good colour rendering only by increasing the number and spectral range of the phosphors used; compared to the alternative of combining ‘true’ red, green and blue (RGB) sources, it is intrinsically inefficient. The two major roadblocks to the RGB approach are 1. the green gap in the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of LEDs; 2. the diode droop in the efficiency of LEDs at higher current densities. The physical origin of these effects, in the case of III‐nitrides, is generally thought to be a combination of Quantum Confined Stark Effect (QCSE) and Auger Effect (AE). These effects respectively reduce the electron–hole wave‐ function overlap of In‐rich InGaN quantum wells (QW), and provide a non‐radiative shunt for electron–hole recombination, particularly at higher excitation densities. SORBET, a novel band gap engineering strategy based upon quantum well intermixing (QWIM), offers solutions to both of the roadblocks mentioned above. In this introduction to SORBET, its great potential is tested and confirmed by the results of simulations of green InGaN diodes performed using the TiberCAD device modelling suite, which calculates the macroscopic properties of real‐world optoelectronic and electronic devices in a multiscale formalism. An alternative approach to the realisation of RGB GaN‐based LEDs through doping of an active layer by rare earth (RE) ions will also be briefly described. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)