Th. Gessmann

Experimental analysis and theoretical model for anomalously high ideality factors (n≫2.0) in AlGaN/GaN p-n junction diodes

Diode ideality factors much higher than the expected values of 1.0 to 2.0 have been reported in GaN-based p-n junctions. It is shown that moderately doped unipolar heterojunctions as well as metal-semiconductor junctions, in particular the metal contact to p-type GaN, can increase the ideality factor to values greater than 2.0. A relation is derived for the effective ideality factor by taking into account all junctions of the diode structure. Diodes fabricated from a bulk GaN p-n junction and a p-n junction structure with a p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattice display ideality factors of 6.9 and 4.0, respectively. These results are consistent with the theoretical model and the fact that p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattices facilitate the formation of low-resistance ohmic contacts.

Influence of junction temperature on chromaticity and color-rendering properties of trichromatic white-light sources based on light-emitting diodes

Trichromatic white-light sources based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) offer a high luminous efficacy of radiation, a broad range of color temperatures and excellent color-rendering properties with color-rendering indices (CRIs) exceeding 85. An analysis of the luminous efficacy and CRI of a trichromatic light source is performed for a very broad range of wavelength combinations. The peak emission wavelength, spectral width, and the output power of LEDs strongly depend on temperature and the dependencies for red, green, and blue LEDs are established. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of trichromatic white LED sources reveals that the luminous efficacy decreases, the color temperature increases, the CRI decreases and the chromaticity point shifts towards the blue as the junction temperature increases. A high CRI>80 can be maintained, by adjusting the LED power ratio so that the chromaticity point is conserved.

Junction and carrier temperature measurements in deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes using three different methods

The junction temperature of AlGaN ultraviolet light-emitting diodes emitting at 295nm is measured by using the temperature coefficients of the diode forward voltage and emission peak energy. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored to measure the carrier temperature. A linear relation between junction temperature and current is found. Analysis of the experimental methods reveals that the diode-forward voltage is the most accurate (±3°C). A theoretical model for the dependence of the diode forward voltage (Vf) on junction temperature (Tj) is developed that takes into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap. A thermal resistance of 87.6K∕W is obtained with the device mounted with thermal paste on a heat sink.

High-efficiency AlGaInP light-emitting diodes for solid-state lighting applications

AlGaInP lattice matched to GaAs is suited for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) operating in the red, orange, yellow, and yellow–green wavelength range. Such long-wavelength visible-spectrum devices will play an important role in solid-state lighting applications. This review discusses the major classes of AlGaInP device structures, including absorbing-substrate (AS) LEDs, absorbing substrate LEDs enhanced by distributed-Bragg-reflectors (DBRs), transparent substrate (TS) LEDs, thin-film (TF) LEDs, and LEDs using omnidirectional reflectors (ODRs). Some of these device structures have well-known deficiencies: A significant fraction of light is absorbed in the GaAs substrate in AS-LEDs; DBRs are essentially transparent at oblique angles of incidence leading to substantial optical losses. More recent developments such as TS-LEDs and TF-LEDs avoid these drawbacks. High-reflectivity, electrically conductive ODRs were recently developed that considerably outperform conventional distributed Bragg reflectors. LEDs usi...

Omnidirectional reflector using nanoporous SiO 2 as a low-refractive-index material

Triple-layer omnidirectional reflectors (ODRs) consisting of a semiconductor, a quarter-wavelength transparent dielectric layer, and a metal have high reflectivities for all angles of incidence. Internal ODRs (ambient materials refractive index n >> 1.0) are demonstrated that incorporate nanoporous SiO2, a low-refractive-index material (n = 1.23), as well as dense SiO2 (n = 1.46). GaP and Ag serve as the semiconductor and the metal layer, respectively. Reflectivity measurements, including angular dependence, are presented. Calculated angle-integrated TE and TM reflectivities for ODRs employing nanoporous SiO2 are R(int)/TE = 99.9% and R(int)/TM = 98.9%, respectively, indicating the high potential of the ODRs for low-loss waveguide structures.

Carrier dynamics in nitride-based light-emitting p-n junction diodes with two active regions emitting at different wavelengths

The carrier transport and recombination dynamics of monolithic InGaN/GaN light-emitting p-n junction structures with two active regions are investigated. Room-temperature and low-temperature photoluminescence and room-temperature electroluminescence measurements show two emission bands originating from the two active regions. In electroluminescence, the intensity ratio of the two emission bands is independent of injection current. In contrast, the intensity ratio depends strongly on the excitation intensity in photoluminescence measurements. The dependency of the emission on excitation is discussed and attributed to carrier transport between the two active regions and to the different carrier injection dynamics in photoluminescence and electroluminescence. The luminous efficacy of a Gaussian dichromatic white-light source is calculated assuming a line broadening ranging from 2kT to 10kT. Luminous efficacies ranging from 380 to 440 lm/W are obtained for broadened dichromatic sources.

P-type conductivity in bulk AlxGa1−xN and AlxGa1−xN/AlyGa1−yN superlattices with average Al mole fraction >20%

Synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy reveals enhanced oxygen incorporation in AlxGa1−xN as the Al mole fraction increases. It is shown that the increased oxygen donor incorporation can result in a conductivity-type change from p-type to n-type in Mg-doped AlxGa1−xN. Consistent with the conductivity-type change, epitaxial Al0.20Ga0.80N films exhibit n-type conductivity despite heavy Mg doping. The p-type conductivity of bulk AlxGa1−xN with a high Al mole fraction can be improved by employing AlxGa1−xN/AlyGa1−yN superlattices (SLs). At 300 K, Mg-doped Al0.17Ga0.83N/Al0.36Ga0.64N SLs (average Al mole fraction of 23%) exhibit strong p-type conductivity with a specific resistance of 4.6 Ω cm, a hole mobility of 18.8 cm2/Vs, and an acceptor activation energy of 195 meV.

Quantitative assessment of diffusivity and specularity of surface-textured reflectors for light extraction in light-emitting diodes

Surface-textured reflectors fabricated by natural lithography and ion beam etching have a specular and a diffusive component of the reflectivity. The diffusely and specularly reflected powers of surface-textured reflectors are measured and analyzed quantitatively in terms of a theoretical model. The diffusive-power-to-total-power ratio is determined and shown to strongly depend on the surface texture. The light extraction efficiency from a waveguide clad by a partially diffuse reflector is analyzed and shown to be enhanced.

Experimental analysis and a new model for the high ideality factors in GaN-based diodes

In this paper, we described the fabrication of GaN based diodes from two different structures , a bulk GaN p-n junction structure and a p-n junction structure incorporating a p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattice. This superlattice structure is included to facilitate ohmic contact formation. We measure the I-V characteristics of the p-n junctions at room temperature. The lower ideality factor to the improved transport characteristics of p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattices are attributed. The temperature dependence of ideality factor is obtained by measuring the I-V characteristics of the GaN p-n juction with the superlattice structure at three different temperatures. In addition, contact become less rectifying at higher temperatures and hence result in more ohmic behavior. This decreases the ideality factor of the metal-semiconductor juction, which in turn reduces the overall ideality factor. This interpretation is in excellent agreement with the theoretical model and the experimental results.

Junction Temperature Measurements in Deep-UV Light-Emitting Diodes

The junction temperature of AlGaN/GaN ultraviolet (UV) Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) emitting at 295 nm is measured by using the temperature coefficients of the diode forward voltage and emission peak energy. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored to measure the carrier temperature. A linear relation between junction temperature and current is found. Analysis of the experimental methods reveals that the diode-forward voltage is the most accurate method (± 3 °C). A theoretical model for the dependence of the diode junction voltage ( V j ) on junction temperature ( T ) is developed that takes into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap. A thermal resistance of 87.6 K/W is obtained with the AlGaN/GaN LED sample mounted with thermal paste on a heat sink.