D. Monti

Failure causes and mechanisms of retrofit LED lamps

Abstract This paper describes one of the first studies of the degradation of retrofit light bulbs based on white GaN light emitting diodes. The results indicate that the lifetime of LED lamps depends mostly on the stability of the driver and optical elements, rather than on the degradation of the LED chips, that have a stable output over stress time. By comparing lamps from four different manufacturers stressed at room and high temperature, we found that (i) long-term stress causes a change of the chromatic properties of the lamps, which is ascribed to the degradation of the phosphors or to the inner LED reflector; (ii) during aging the LED driver may degrade gradually and/or catastrophically, causing a reduction of the output optical power, or a complete failure; (iii) proper thermal management and heat dissipation reduce the degradation rate; (iv) spectral transmissivity measurements and visual inspection reveal the degradation of the diffusive optical elements, which is induced by the short wavelength side of the LED emission spectrum.

Defect-Related Degradation of AlGaN-Based UV-B LEDs

This paper describes an extensive analysis of the degradation of (InAlGa)N-based UV-B light-emitting diodes (LEDs) submitted to constant current stress. This paper is based on combined electrical characterization, spectral analysis of the emission, deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and photocurrent (PC) spectroscopy. The results of this analysis demonstrate that: 1) UV-B LEDs show a gradual degradation when submitted to constant current stress; the decrease in optical power is stronger for low measuring current levels, indicating that degradation is related to the increase in Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination; 2) the current-voltage characteristics measured before/during stress show an increase in the current below the turn-on voltage, that is ascribed to the increase in trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) components; and 3) DLTS analysis and PC spectroscopy measurements were carried out to identify the properties of the defects responsible for the degradation of the optical and electrical characteristics. The results indicate that stress induces or activates defects centered around 2.5 eV below the conduction band edge. These defects, close to midgap, can explain both the increased SRH recombination and the increase in TAT components detected after stress. Moreover, the DLTS measurements allowed to identify the signature of Mg-related acceptor traps.

Defect-generation and diffusion in (In)AlGaN-based UV-B LEDs submitted to constant current stress

The aim of this work is to analyze the degradation in (In)AlGaN-based UV-B LEDs, with a nominal emission wavelength of 310 nm, submitted to constant current stress at a high current density of 350 A/cm2. We observed two main degradation mechanisms that were studied by investigating the evolution of the main emission peak from the quantum well (QW) and of a parasitic peak centered at 340 nm. In the first 50 hours of stress the main peak decreases and the parasitic peak (probably related to radiative recombination in the quantum barrier next to the electron blocking layer) increases at drive currents between 5 mA and 50 mA. Secondly, after 50 hours of stress both the main and the parasitic peak decrease. The first degradation mode could be related to carrier escape from the QWs, since the increase in the parasitic peak is correlated with the decrease in the main peak. After 50 hours of stress, we observed that the current below the turn-on voltage at V = 2 V increases with a square-root of time dependence. This behavior indicates the presence of a diffusion process, probably by point defects causing an increase of non-radiative recombination in the LED.

Defect generation in deep-UV AlGaN-based LEDs investigated by electrical and spectroscopic characterisation

The paper reports the analysis of (In)AlGaN-based UV-B LEDs degradation under constant current stress, and investigates the impact of defects in changing the devices electro-optical performance. The study is based on combined electro-optical characterization, deep-level transient- (DLTS) and photocurrent spectroscopy. UV-B LEDs show a decrease of the optical power during stress, more pronounced at low measuring current levels, indicating that the degradation is related to an increase of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination. DLTS measurements allowed the identification of three defects, in particular one ascribed to Mg-related acceptor traps presence. Photocurrent spectroscopy allows the localization of the defects close to the mid-gap.

Aging behavior, reliability and failure physics of GaN-based optoelectronic components

This paper critically reviews the most relevant failure modes and mechanisms of InGaN LEDs for lighting application. At chip level, both the epitaxial heterostructure and the ohmic contacts may be affected. This may result in: (i) the formation of defects within the active region, resulting in the increase of non-radiative recombination and leakage current, (ii) the reduction of the injection efficiency consequent to increased trap-assisted tunneling, (iii) the degradation of contact resistance with increase of forward voltage. Package-related failures – not described in this paper - include (iv) thermally-activated degradation processes, affecting the yellow phosphors, the plastic package or the encapsulating materials and (v) darkening of the Ag package reflective coating, the latter due to chemical reaction with contaminants as Cl or S. In order to enucleate and study the different physical failure mechanisms governing device degradation, single quantum well (SQW) blue LEDs, InGaN laser structures and commercially-available white LEDs to high temperature and/or high current density have been submitted to accelerated testing at high temperature and high current density.

Degradation of UV-A LEDs: Physical Origin and Dependence on Stress Conditions

This paper presents an extensive analysis of the degradation of UV-A light-emitting diodes (LEDs) submitted to constant current stress. The study is based on combined electrical, optical, and thermal measurements and demonstrates the following results: 1) the UV-A LEDs submitted to constant current stress show a gradual degradation, and the degradation rate is strongly dependent on the emission wavelength; 2) the degradation process is ascribed to the generation of point defects within the active region of the devices, with a subsequent increase in the nonradiative recombination rate; and 3) the time to degradation is strongly dependent on the stress current level and is thermally activated (activation energy equal to 0.36 eV).

Current induced degradation study on state of the art DUV LEDs

Abstract We present the first comprehensive study of the degradation of 16 mW state of the art UVC LEDs emitting at 280 nm. The study, based on combined electrical and spectral characterization, allows to identify different degradation regimes and mechanisms, and to formulate hypotheses on their origin.

Impact of dislocations on DLTS spectra and degradation of InGaN-based laser diodes

Abstract The aim of this paper is to illustrate the dependence of DLTS characteristics and degradation of InGaN-based laser diodes (LDs) on the density of dislocations. Three groups of multi-quantum well LDs with different dislocation densities were submitted to constant current stress, at room temperature: the analysis is based on combined electrical-optical measurements and Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) investigation was made before and after stress. DLTS results show the presence of a hole trap in all the samples, whose intensity is related to the dislocation density. Constant current stress induces a significant decrease in the optical power (subthreshold regime), not related exclusively to the dislocation density, and the appearance of a new deep level for electrons (point defect generated after stress).

Long-term degradation of InGaN-based laser diodes: Role of defects

Abstract The aim of this paper is to give an extensive presentation of the defect-related degradation of InGaN-based laser diodes (LDs) submitted to constant current stress, at room temperature. The analysis is based on combined electrical-optical characterization, the capacitance-temperature analysis, and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The results show that stress induces a significant increase of the threshold current and the appearance of two defects, possibly related to point defects arranged along lines.