Xueliang Zhang

Improving hole injection efficiency by manipulating the hole transport mechanism through p-type electron blocking layer engineering

The p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is widely used in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for electron overflow suppression. However, a typical EBL also reduces the hole injection efficiency, because holes have to climb over the energy barrier generated at the p-AlGaN/p-GaN interface before entering the quantum wells. In this work, to address this problem, we report the enhancement of hole injection efficiency by manipulating the hole transport mechanism through insertion of a thin GaN layer of 1xa0nm into the p-AlGaN EBL and propose an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN-type EBL outperforming conventional AlGaN EBLs. Here, the position of the inserted thin GaN layer relative to the p-GaN region is found to be the key to enhancing the hole injection efficiency. InGaN/GaN LEDs with the proposed p-type AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN EBL have demonstrated substantially higher optical output power and external quantum efficiency.

Self-screening of the quantum confined Stark effect by the polarization induced bulk charges in the quantum barriers

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown along the polar orientations significantly suffer from the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) caused by the strong polarization induced electric field in the quantum wells, which is a fundamental problem intrinsic to the III-nitrides. Here, we show that the QCSE is self-screened by the polarization induced bulk charges enabled by designing quantum barriers. The InN composition of the InGaN quantum barrier graded along the growth orientation opportunely generates the polarization induced bulk charges in the quantum barrier, which well compensate the polarization induced interface charges, thus avoiding the electric field in the quantum wells. Consequently, the optical output power and the external quantum efficiency are substantially improved for the LEDs. The ability to self-screen the QCSE using polarization induced bulk charges opens up new possibilities for device engineering of III-nitrides not only in LEDs but also in other optoelectronic devices.

On the origin of the electron blocking effect by an n-type AlGaN electron blocking layer

In this work, the origin of electron blocking effect of n-type Al0.25Ga0.75N electron blocking layer (EBL) for c+ InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes has been investigated through dual-wavelength emission method. It is found that the strong polarization induced electric field within the n-EBL reduces the thermal velocity and correspondingly the mean free path of the hot electrons. As a result, the electron capture efficiency of the multiple quantum wells is enhanced, which significantly reduces the electron overflow from the active region and increases the radiative recombination rate with holes.

Comparative study of field-dependent carrier dynamics and emission kinetics of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes grown on (112¯2) semipolar versus (0001) polar planes

The characteristics of electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) emission from GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on (112¯2) semipolar plane and (0001) polar plane have been comparatively investigated. Through different bias-dependent shifting trends observed from the PL and time-resolved PL spectra (TRPL) for the two types of LEDs, the carrier dynamics within the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) region is systematically analyzed and the distinct field-dependent emission kinetics are revealed. Moreover, the polarization induced internal electric field has been deduced for each of the LEDs. The relatively stable emission behavior observed in the semipolar LED is attributed to the smaller polarization induced internal electric field. The study provides meaningful insight for the design of quantum well (QW) structures with high radiative recombination rates.

On the mechanisms of InGaN electron cooler in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

Electron overflow limits the quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes. InGaN electron cooler (EC) can be inserted before growing InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) to reduce electron overflow. However, detailed mechanisms of how the InGaN EC contributes to the efficiency improvement have remained unclear so far. In this work, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate an electron mean-free-path model, which reveals the InGaN EC reduces the electron mean free path in MQWs, increases the electron capture rate and also reduces the valence band barrier heights of the MQWs, in turn promoting the hole transport into MQWs.

A hole accelerator for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

The quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has been significantly limited by the insufficient hole injection, and this is caused by the inefficient p-type doping and the low hole mobility. The low hole mobility makes the holes less energetic, which hinders the hole injection into the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) especially when a p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is adopted. In this work, we report a hole accelerator to accelerate the holes so that the holes can obtain adequate kinetic energy, travel across the p-type EBL, and then enter the MQWs more efficiently and smoothly. In addition to the numerical study, the effectiveness of the hole accelerator is experimentally shown through achieving improved optical output power and reduced efficiency droop for the proposed InGaN/GaN LED.

InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes with a grading InN composition suppressing the Auger recombination

In conventional InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs), thin InGaN quantum wells are usually adopted to mitigate the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE), caused due to strong polarization induced electric field, through spatially confining electrons and holes in small recombination volumes. However, this inevitably increases the carrier density in quantum wells, which in turn aggravates the Auger recombination, since the Auger recombination scales with the third power of the carrier density. As a result, the efficiency droop of the Auger recombination severely limits the LED performance. Here, we proposed and showed wide InGaN quantum wells with the InN composition linearly grading along the growth orientation in LED structures suppressing the Auger recombination and the QCSE simultaneously. Theoretically, the physical mechanisms behind the Auger recombination suppression are also revealed. The proposed LED structure has experimentally demonstrated significant improvement in optical output power and efficiency droop, proving to be an effective solution to this important problem of Auger recombination.

p-doping-free InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode driven by three-dimensional hole gas

Here, GaN/AlxGa1-xN heterostructures with a graded AlN composition, completely lacking external p-doping, are designed and grown using metal-organic-chemical-vapour deposition (MOCVD) system to realize three-dimensional hole gas (3DHG). The existence of the 3DHG is confirmed by capacitance-voltage measurements. Based on this design, a p-doping-free InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) driven by the 3DHG is proposed and grown using MOCVD. The electroluminescence, which is attributed to the radiative recombination of injected electrons and holes in InGaN/GaN quantum wells, is observed from the fabricated p-doping-free devices. These results suggest that the 3DHG can be an alternative hole source for InGaN/GaN LEDs besides common Mg dopants.

Polarization self-screening in [0001] oriented InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes for improving the electron injection efficiency

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown along the [0001] orientation inherit very strong polarization induced electric fields. This results in a reduced effective conduction band barrier height for the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) and makes the electron blocking effect relatively ineffective and the electron injection efficiency drops. Here, we show the concept of polarization self-screening for improving the electron injection efficiency. In this work, the proposed polarization self-screening effect was studied and proven through growing a p-type EBL with AlN composition partially graded along the [0001] orientation, which induces the bulk polarization charges. These bulk polarization charges are utilized to effectively self-screen the positive polarization induced interface charges located at the interface between the EBL and the last quantum barrier when designed properly. Using this approach, the electron leakage is suppressed and the LED performance is enhanced significantly.

Decoupling contact and mirror: an effective way to improve the reflector for flip-chip InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting diodes

In the conventional fabrication process of the widely-adopted Ni/Ag/Ti/Au reflector for InGaN/GaN-based flip-chip light-emitting diodes (LEDs), the contact and the mirror are entangled together with contrary processing conditions which set constraints to the device performance severely. Here we first report the concept and its effectiveness of decoupling the contact formation and the mirror construction. The ohmic contact is first formed by depositing and annealing an extremely thin layer of Ni/Ag on top of p-GaN. The mirror construction is then carried out by depositing thick layer of Ag/Ti/Au without any annealing. Compared with the conventional fabrication method of the reflector, by which the whole stack of Ni/Ag/Ti/Au is deposited and annealed together, the optical output power is improved by more than 70% at 350 mA without compromising the electrical performance. The mechanism of decoupling the contact and the mirror is analyzed with the assistance of contactless sheet resistance measurement and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profile analysis.