量子阱结构对含V形坑InGaN/GaN蓝光LED效率衰减的影响

使用MOCVD在图形化Si衬底上生长了含V形坑的InGaN/GaN蓝光LED。通过改变生长温度,生长了禁带宽度稍大的载流子限制阱和禁带宽度稍小的发光阱,研究了两类量子阱组合对含V形坑InG aN/GaN基蓝光LED效率衰减的影响。使用高分辨率X射线衍射仪和LED电致发光测试系统对LED外延结构和LED光电性能进行了表征。结果表明:限制阱靠近n层、发光阱靠近p层的新型量子阱结构,在室温75 A/cm~2时的外量子效率相对于其最高点仅衰减12.7%,明显优于其他量子阱结构的16.3%、16.0%、28.4%效率衰减,且只有这种结构在低温时(T≤150 K)未出现内量子效率随电流增大而剧烈衰减的现象。结果表明,合理的量子阱结构设计能够显著提高电子空穴在含V形坑量子阱中的有效交叠,促进载流子在阱间交互,提高载流子匹配度,抑制电子泄漏,从而减缓效率衰减、提升器件光电性能。     

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.     

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 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.     

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.     

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.     

Optical excitation study on the efficiency droop behaviors of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well structures

Efficiency droop is generally observed in electroluminescence under high current injection. Optical characterization on efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well structures has been conducted at 12 K. Clear droop behaviors were observed for the sample excited by above-bandgap excitation of GaN with pulse laser. The results show that dislocation is not the crucial factor to droop under high carrier density injection, and Auger recombination just slightly affects the efficiency. The radiative recombination may be mainly affected by a multi-carrier-related process (diffusion and drift with a factor of n ^3.5 and n ^5.5) at the interface between GaN barrier and InGaN well.     

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.     

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.     

Improved efficiency droop characteristics in an InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode with a novel designed last barrier structure

<正>In this study,the characteristics of nitride-based light-emitting diodes with different last barrier structures are analysed numerically.The energy band diagrams,electrostatic field near the last quantum barrier,carrier concentration in the quantum well,internal quantum efficiency,and light output power are systematically investigated.The simulation results show that the efficiency droop is markedly improved and the output power is greatly enhanced when the conventional GaN last barrier is replaced by an AlGaN barrier with Al composition graded linearly from 0 to 15% in the growth direction.These improvements are attributed to enhanced efficiencies of electron confinement and hole injection caused by the lower polarization effect at the last-barrier/electron blocking layer interface when the graded Al composition last barrier is used.     

Performance enhancement of an InGaN light-emitting diode with an AlGaN/InGaN superlattice electron-blocking layer

The efficiency enhancement of an InGaN light-emitting diode(LED) with an AlGaN/InGaN superlattice(SL)electron-blocking layer(EBL) is studied numerically,which involves the light-current performance curve,internal quantum efficiency electrostatic field band wavefunction,energy band diagram carrier concentration,electron current density,and radiative recombination rate.The simulation results indicate that the LED with an AlGaN/InGaN SL EBL has better optical performance than the LED with a conventional rectangular AlGaN EBL or a normal AlGaN/GaN SL EBL because of the appropriately modified energy band diagram,which is favorable for the injection of holes and confinement of electrons.Additionally,the efficiency droop of the LED with an AlGaN/InGaN SL EBL is markedly improved by reducing the polarization field in the active region.     

Investigation of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with p-AlGaN/InGaN superlattice interlayer

The blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs), employing a lattice-compensated p-AlGaN/InGaN superlattice (SL) interlayer to link the last quantum barrier and electron blocking layer (EBL), are proposed and investigated numerically. The simulation results indicate that the newly designed LEDs have better hole injection efficiency, lower electron leakage, and smaller electrostatic fields in the active region over the conventional LEDs mainly attributed to the mitigated polarization-induced downward band bending. Furthermore, the markedly improved output power and efficiency droop are also suggested when the conventional LEDs corresponding to experiment data are replaced by the newly designed LEDs.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

新型电子阻挡层结构对蓝光InGaN发光二极管性能的提高

分别对3种不种电子阻挡层的蓝光AlGaN LED进行数值模拟研究。3种阻挡层结构分别为传统AlGaN电子阻挡层,AlGaN-GaN-AlGaN电子阻挡层和Al组分渐变的AlGaN-GaN-AlGaN电子阻挡层。此外对这对三种器件的活性区的载流子浓度、能带图、静电场和内量子效率进行比较和分析。研究结果表明,相较于传统AlGaN和AlGaN-GaN-AlGaN两种电子阻挡层的LED,具有Al组分渐变的AlGaN-GaN-AlGaN电子阻挡层结构的LED具有较高的空穴注入效率、较低的电子外溢现象和较小的静电场(活性区)。同时,具有Al组分渐变的AlGaN-GaN-AlGaN电子阻挡层结构的LED的efficiency droop现象也得到一定的缓解。     

Lateral carrier confinement in InGaN quantum-well nanorods

We review our studies on lateral carrier diffusion in micro-fabricated samples of InGaN nanorods and their parent quantum wells. The carrier diffusion is observed to be strongly confined in nanorods, as manifested by the reduction in the delayed-rise component of time-resolved photoluminescence traces. We further argue that the confinement of carrier diffusion can be applied to suppress the efficiency droop related to defect state recombination and to assist in the energy transfer between InGaN nanorods and nanocrystal phosphors for color conversion.     

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.     

Efficiency droop in light‐emitting diodes: Challenges and countermeasures

Efficiency droop, i.e. the loss of efficiency at high operating current, afflicts nitride‐based light‐emitting diodes (LEDs). The droop phenomenon is currently the subject of intense research, as it retards the advancement of solid‐state lighting which is just starting to supplant fluorescent as well as incandescent lighting. Although the technical community does not yet have consented to a single cause of droop, this article provides a summary of the present state of droop research, reviews currently discussed droop mechanisms, and presents a recently developed theoretical model for the efficiency droop. In the theoretical model, carrier leakage out of the active region caused by the asymmetry of the pn junction, specifically the disparity between electron and hole concentrations and mobilities, is discussed in detail. The model is in agreement with the droop's key behaviors not only for GaInN LEDs but also for AlGaInP LEDs.