R. I. Gorbunov

Effect of the joule heating on the quantum efficiency and choice of thermal conditions for high-power blue InGaN/GaN LEDs

The heat model of a light-emitting diode (LED) with an InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) in the active region is considered. Effects of the temperature and drive current, as well as of the size and material of the heat sink on the light output and efficiency of blue LEDs are studied. It is shown that, for optimal heat removal, decreasing of the LED efficiency as current increases to 100 mA is related to the effect of electric field on the efficiency of carrier injection into the QW. As current further increases up to 400 mA, the decrease in efficiency is caused by Joule heating. It is shown that the working current of LEDs can be increased by a factor of 5–7 under optimal heat removal conditions. Recommendations are given on the cooling of LEDs in a manner dependent on their power.

Defect-related tunneling mechanism of efficiency droop in III-nitride light-emitting diodes

The quantum efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is investigated at temperatures 77–300 K. It is found that the efficiency droop is due to a decrease in the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) in the low-energy part of the emission spectrum. The efficiency starts to decrease at a temperature independent forward voltage of Umax≈2.9 V. At this voltage tunneling current through the LED-structure begins to dominate. It is suggested that the external quantum efficiency droop is related to reduction of the IQE due to tunneling leakage of carriers from the quantum well (QW) to defect states in barriers, and to reduction of the injection efficiency by excess tunneling current under QW through deep defect states in barriers.

Tunnel-recombination currents and electroluminescence efficiency in InGaN/GaN LEDs

The mechanism of injection loss in p-GaN/InGaN/n-GaN quantum-well LEDs is analyzed by studying the temperature and current dependences of external quantum efficiency in the temperature range 77–300 K and by measuring transient currents. The data obtained are interpreted in terms of a tunnel-recombination model of excess current, which involves electron tunneling through the potential barrier in n-GaN and the over-barrier thermal activation of holes in p-GaN. At a low forward bias, the dominant process is electron capture on the InGaN/p-GaN interface states. At a higher bias, the excess current sharply increases due to an increase in the density of holes on the InGaN/p-GaN interface and their recombination with the trapped electrons. The injection of carriers into the quantum well is limited by the tunnel-recombination current, which results in a decrease in efficiency at high current densities and low temperatures. The pinning of the Fermi level is attributed to the decoration of heterointerfaces, grain boundaries, and dislocations by impurity complexes.

Mechanism of the GaN LED efficiency falloff with increasing current

The quantum efficiency of GaN LED structures has been studied at various temperatures and biases. It was found that an efficiency falloff is observed with increasing current density and, simultaneously, the tunnel component of the current through the LED grows and the quasi-Fermi levels reach the mobility edge in the InGaN active layer. It is shown that the internal quantum efficiency falloff with increasing current density is due to the carrier leakage from the quantum well as a result of tunnel transitions from its band-tail states to local defect-related energy levels within the energy gaps of the barrier layers.

Nonuniformity of carrier injection and the degradation of blue LEDs

The distribution of electroluminescence (EL) intensity over the area and in the course of time before and after the optical degradation of blue InGaN/GaN LEDs is studied. Current-voltage characteristics have been recorded. It is found that the initially bright luminescence near the region of metallization of the p-contact turns weak after the degradation of an LED. The time delay of ∼20–40 ns is observed in the distribution of EL intensity over the area of LEDs after their degradation. We suppose that a rise in the excess current after degradation is due to the density increasing of the InGaN/GaN interface states and the formation of an electrical dipole, which lowers the potential barriers in p-GaN and n-GaN layers. The corresponding increase of capacitance leads to a time delay in the spreading of the injection current and in the distribution of the emission brightness over the area. The lateral nonuniformity of the carrier injection into the quantum, well before and after optical degradation, is attributed to diffusion and electromigration of hydrogen, induced by mechanical stress. The metallization of the p-contact may be the source of mechanical stress.

Tunnel injection and power efficiency of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

The results of studying the influence of the finite tunneling transparency of injection barriers in light-emitting diodes with InGaN/GaN quantum wells on the dependences of the current, capacitance, and quantum efficiency on the p-n junction voltage and temperature are presented. It is shown that defectassisted hopping tunneling is the main transport mechanism through the space charge region (SCR) and makes it possible to lower the injection barrier. It is shown that, in the case of high hopping conductivity through the injection barrier, the tunnel-injection current into InGaN band-tail states is limited only by carrier diffusion from neutral regions and is characterized by a close-to-unity ideality factor, which provides the highest quantum and power efficiencies. An increase in the hopping conductivity through the space charge region with increasing frequency, forward bias, or temperature has a decisive effect on the capacitance-voltage characteristics and temperature dependences of the high-frequency capacitance and quantum efficiency. An increase in the density of InGaN/GaN band-tail states and in the hopping conductivity of injection barriers is necessary to provide the high-level tunnel injection and close-to-unity power efficiency of high-power light-emitting diodes.

Effect of localized tail states in InGaN on the efficiency droop in GaN light-emitting diodes with increasing current density

The mechanism of the internal quantum efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN structures with multiple quantum wells at current densities of up to 40 A cm−2 in high-power light-emitting diodes is analyzed. It is shown that there exists a correlation between the efficiency droop and the broadening of the high-energy edge of the emission spectrum with increasing current density. It is also demonstrated that the efficiency is a spectrum-dependent quantity and the emission of higher energy photons starts to decrease at higher current densities. The effect of tunneling and thermally activated mechanisms of thermalization of carriers captured into shallow band-tail states in the energy gap of InGaN on the efficiency and the emission spectrum’s shape is considered. Analysis of the results obtained suggests that the efficiency droop occurs at high current densities because of the relative rise in the contribution from nonradiative recombination via defect states as a result of the increasing occupancy of deep band-tail states in InGaN. It is shown that power efficiency close to the theoretical limit can be obtained in the case of low-voltage tunnel injection into localized band-tail states in the InGaN active region.

Measurement of the absorption coefficient for light laterally propagating in light-emitting diode structures with In0.2Ga0.8N/GaN quantum wells

A procedure for measuring the absorption coefficient for light propagating parallel to the surface of a GaN-based light emitting diode chip on a sapphire substrate is suggested. The procedure implies the study of emission from one end face of the chip as the opposite end face is illuminated with a light emitting diode. The absorption coefficient is calculated from the ratio between the intensities of emission emerging from the end faces of the sapphire substrate and the epitaxial layer. From the measurements for chips based on p-GaN/In0.2Ga0.8N/n-GaN structures, the lateral absorption coefficient is determined at a level of (23 ± 3)cm−1 at a wavelength of 465 nm. Possible causes for the discrepancy between the absorption coefficients determined in the study and those reported previously are analyzed.

Quantum efficiency and formation of the emission line in light-emitting diodes based on InGaN/GaN quantum well structures

The spectra of electroluminescence, photoluminescence, and photocurrent for the In0.2Ga0.8N/GaN quantum-well structures are studied to clarify the causes for the reduction in quantum efficiency with increasing forward current. It is established that the quantum efficiency decreases as the emitting photon energy approaches the mobility edge in the In0.2Ga0.8N layer. The mobility edge determined from the photocurrent spectra is Eme = 2.89 eV. At the photon energies hv > 2.69 eV, the charge carriers can tunnel to nonradiative recombination centers with a certain probability, and therefore, the quantum efficiency decreases. The tunnel injection into deep localized states provides the maximum electroluminescence efficiency. This effect is responsible for the origin of the characteristic maximum in the quantum efficiency of the emitting diodes at current densities much lower than the operating densities. Occupation of the deep localized states in the density-of-states “tails” in InGaN plays a crucial role in the formation of the emission line as well. It is shown that the increase in the quantum efficiency and the “red” shift of the photoluminescence spectra with the voltage correlate with the changes in the photocurrent and occur due to suppression of the separation of photogenerated carriers in the field of the space charge region and to their thermalization to deep local states.

Determination of the Coefficient of Light Attenuation in Thin Layers of Light-Emitting Diodes

A method for determining the coefficient of light attenuation in a thin GaN layer of light-emitting structures is suggested. The method is based on the measurements of electroluminescence intensity in parallel and perpendicular directions to the layer. The light-attenuation coefficient of 90 ± 15 cm−1 was obtained for the GaN layer of an InGaN light-emitting structure.