Fang-I Lai

Study of GaN light-emitting diodes fabricated by laser lift-off technique

The fabrication process and performance characteristics of the laser lift-off (LLO) GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were investigated. The LLO-GaN LEDs were fabricated by lifting off the GaN LED wafer structure grown on the original sapphire substrate by a KrF excimer laser at 248 nm wavelength with the laser fluence of 0.6 J/cm2 and transferring it onto a Cu substrate. The LLO-GaN LEDs on Cu show a nearly four-fold increase in the light output power over the regular LLO-LEDs on the sapphire substrate. High operation current up to 400 mA for the LLO-LEDs on Cu was also demonstrated. Based on the emission wavelength shift with the operating current data, the LLO-LEDs on Cu show an estimated improvement of heat dissipation capacities by nearly four times over the light-emitting devices on sapphire substrate. The LLO process should be applicable to other GaN-based LEDs in particular for those high light output power and high operation current devices.

Effects of RF power on the structural, optical and electrical properties of Al-doped zinc oxide films

Abstract In this study, we discussed the effects of growth parameters on the structural and optical properties of Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) deposited at room temperature by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The AZO films have been characterized in detail using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Hall-effect measurement system and UV–visible spectrophotometer. It was found that the morphological, structural, electrical and optical properties of AZO films are greatly dependent on sputtering power. Collision between sputter species and surface morphology play important roles in optoelectrical properties of AZO films. According to our experimental results, the AZO films can be used in versatile devices to meet various requirements.

1.3-/spl mu/m InAs-InGaAs quantum-dot vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with fully doped DBRs grown by MBE

We report InAs-InGaAs quantum-dot vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy with fully doped n- and p-doped AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors and including an AlAs layer to form a current and waveguiding aperture. The metal contacts are deposited on a topmost p/sup +/-GaAs contact layer and on the bottom surface of the n/sup +/-GaAs substrate. This conventional selectively oxidized top-emitting device configuration avoids the added complexity of fabricating intracavity or coplanar ohmic contacts. The VCSELs operate continuous-wave at room temperature with peak output powers of 0.33 mW and differential slope efficiencies up to 0.23 W/A. The peak lasing wavelengths are near 1.275 /spl mu/m, with a sidemode suppression ratio of 28 dB.

Single-mode monolithic quantum-dot VCSEL in 1.3 /spl mu/m with sidemode suppression ratio over 30 dB

We present monolithic quantum-dot vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (QD VCSELs) operating in the 1.3-/spl mu/m optical communication wavelength. The QD VCSELs have adapted fully doped structure on GaAs substrate. The output power is /spl sim/330 /spl mu/W with slope efficiency of 0.18 W/A at room temperature. Single-mode operation was obtained with a sidemode suppression ratio of >30 dB. The modulation bandwidth and eye diagram in 2.5 Gb/s was also presented.

Fabrication of Large-Area GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diodes on Cu Substrate

A large-area GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) 1000×1000 µm2 in size with a p-side down configuration was fabricated using wafer bonding and laser lift-off (LLO) techniques. The thin GaN LED was transferred onto a copper substrate without peeling or cracks. The large-area LEDs showed a uniform light-emission pattern over entire defined mesa area without a transparent contact layer on the p-type GaN. The operating current of the large-area LEDs can be driven up to 1000 mA with continuously increasing light output-power. The light output-power is 240 mW with a driving current of 1000 mA. Large-area emission and high current operation make the LLO-LEDs applicable to high-power LED applications.

Non-antireflective Scheme for Efficiency Enhancement of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Nanotip Array Solar Cells

We present systematic works in characterization of CIGS nanotip arrays (CIGS NTRs). CIGS NTRs are obtained by a one-step ion-milling process by a direct-sputtering process of CIGS thin films (CIGS TF) without a postselenization process. At the surface of CIGS NTRs, a region extending to 100 nm in depth with a lower copper concentration compared to that of CIGS TF has been discovered. After KCN washing, removal of secondary phases can be achieved and a layer with abundant copper vacancy (V(Cu)) was left. Such compositional changes can be a benefit for a CIGS solar cell by promoting formation of Cd-occupied Cu sites (Cd(Cu)) at the CdS/CIGS interface and creates a type-inversion layer to enhance interface passivation and carrier extraction. The raised V(Cu) concentration and enhanced Cd diffusion in CIGS NTRs have been verified by energy dispersive spectrometry. Strengthened adhesion of Al:ZnO (AZO) thin film on CIGS NTRs capped with CdS has also been observed in SEM images and can explain the suppressed series resistance of the device with CIGS NTRs. Those improvements in electrical characteristics are the main factors for efficiency enhancement rather than antireflection.

Enhanced broadband and omnidirectional performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with ZnO functional nanotree arrays

An effective approach is demonstrated for enhancing photoelectric conversion of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells with three-dimensional ZnO nanotree arrays. Under a simulated one-sun condition, cells with ZnO nanotree arrays enhance the short-circuit current density by 10.62%. The omnidirectional anti-reflection of CIGS solar cells with various ZnO nanostructures is also investigated. The solar-spectrum weighted reflectance is approximately less than 5% for incident angles of up to 60° and for the wavelengths primarily from 400 nm to 1000 nm. This enhancement in light harvesting is attributable to the gradual refractive index profile between the ZnO nanostructures and air.

Enhancement of light output power of GaN-based light-emitting diodes using a SiO(2) nano-scale structure on a p-GaN surface

GaN (gallium nitride)-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a nano-scale SiO2 structure between a transparent indium-tin oxide (ITO) layer and p-GaN were fabricated. The forward voltage at 20 mA for a GaN-based LED with a SiO2 nano-scale structure was slightly higher than that of a conventional GaN-based LED because the total area of the p-type metal contact between the transparent ITO layer and p-GaN was smaller. However, the light output power for the GaN-based LED with a nano-scale structured SiO2 at 20 mA was 24% higher than that for a conventional GaN-based LED structure. This increase in the light output power is mostly attributed to the scattering of light from the SiO2 photonic quasi-crystal (PQC) layer.

Single-mode 1.27-/spl mu/m InGaAs:Sb-GaAs-GaAsP quantum well vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

The 1.27-/spl mu/m InGaAs:Sb-GaAs-GaAsP vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and exhibited excellent performance and temperature stability. The threshold current varies from 1.8 to 1.1 mA and the slope efficiency falls less than /spl sim/35% from 0.17 to 0.11 mW/mA as the temperature is raised from room temperature to 75/spl deg/C. The VCSELs continuously operate up to 105/spl deg/C with a slope efficiency of 0.023 mW/mA. With a bias current of only 5 mA, the 3-dB modulation frequency response was measured to be 8.36 GHz, which is appropriate for 10-Gb/s operation. The maximal bandwidth is estimated to be 10.7 GHz with modulation current efficiency factor of /spl sim/5.25GHz/(mA)/sup 1/2/. These VCSELs also demonstrate high-speed modulation up to 10 Gb/s from 25/spl deg/C to 70/spl deg/C. We also accumulated life test data up to 1000 h at 70/spl deg/C/10 mA.

Dandelion-shaped nanostructures for enhancing omnidirectional photovoltaic performance

Broadband and omnidirectional light harvesting is important in photovoltaic technology because of its wide spectral range of radiation and the suns movement. This study reports the fabrication and characterization of zinc oxide (ZnO) dandelions on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. The fabrication of dandelions involves the combination of self-assembled polystyrene (PS) nanospheres and the hydrothermal method, which is one of the simplest and cheapest methods of fabricating a three-dimensional, closely packed periodic structure. This study also investigates the optimization on dimension of the PS nanospheres using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method. This study uses an angle-resolved reflectance spectroscope and a homemade rotatable photo I-V measurement to investigate the omnidirectional and broadband antireflections of the proposed dandelion structure. Under a simulated one-sun condition and a light incident angle of up to 60°, cells with ZnO dandelions arrays enhanced the short-circuit current density by 31.87%. Consequently, ZnO dandelions are suitable for creating an omnidirectionally antireflective coating for photovoltaic devices.