Improving the quality of GaN epilayer by preparing a novel patterned sapphire substrate

GaN epilayer was grown on a new polyhedral patterned sapphire substrate (new PSS) by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition. The new PSS was prepared by combining the dry etching technique and wet etching technique. The X-ray diffraction indicated that the full width at half maximum values of (0002) and ( $10\overline{1}2$ ) diffraction peaks in the GaN epilayer grown on the new PSS were evidently smaller than that in the GaN epilayer grown on the normal treated PSS. The improvement of GaN quality was attributed to the reduction of threading dislocations (TDs) in GaN epilayer, and the mechanism of the reduction of TDs was analyzed. The influence of the new PSS on the optical properties as well as the residual stress in GaN epilayer was also discussed.     

Recent Progress in GaN‐Based Light‐Emitting Diodes

In the last few years the GaN‐based white light‐emitting diode (LED) has been remarkable as a commercially available solid‐state light source. To increase the luminescence power, we studied GaN LED epitaxial materials. First, a special maskless V‐grooved c‐plane sapphire was fabricated, a GaN lateral epitaxial overgrowth method on this substrate was developed, and consequently GaN films are obtained with low dislocation densities and an increased light‐emitting efficiency (because of the enhanced reflection from the V‐grooved plane). Furthermore, anomalous tunneling‐assisted carrier transfer in an asymmetrically coupled InGaN/GaN quantum well structure was studied. A new quantum well structure using this effect is designed to enhance the luminescent efficiency of the LED to ～72%. Finally, a single‐chip phosphor‐free white LED is fabricated, a stable white light is emitted for currents from 20 to 60 mA, which makes the LED chip suitable for lighting applications.     

Enhanced light output of angled sidewall light-emitting diodes with reflective silver films

A proof-of-concept of applying laser micro-machining to fabricate high performance GaN light-emitting diode (LED) was presented in this study. Laser micro-machining was applied to fabricate GaN LED chip with angled sidewalls (ALED). The inclined sapphire sidewalls were coated with highly reflective silver film which functions as an efficient light out-coupling medium for photons within the LED structure. Thus, more laterally-propagating photons can be redirected to the upward direction of the ALED with silver coating (Ag-ALED). Performances of the Ag-ALED, ALED and conventional planar GaN LED were evaluated. At an injection current of 30 mA, the light output intensity of Ag-ALED was significantly improved by 97% and 195% as compared to ALED and conventional planar LED, respectively. The corresponding wall-plug efficiency of Ag-ALED was remarkably increased by 95% and 193% as compared to ALED and conventional planar LED, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that the Ag-ALED showed a pronounced increase in light output intensity compared to conventional planar LED, which may have many potential applications in the field of display engineering.     

Room-temperature red emission from light-emitting diodes with Eu-doped GaN grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy

We obtained room-temperature red emission from GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using a Eu-doped GaN (GaN:Eu) as an active layer. The bright emission was observed under normal lighting condition, which is associated with the intra-4f shell transition of Eu³⁺ ions. The LED properties depends on the growth condition of GaN:Eu layer. Since the high-quality GaN can be grown at higher growth pressure, the intense electroluminescence (EL) was observed in the LED with a GaN:Eu active layer grown at atmospheric pressure, which is due to the enhancement of the energy transfer efficiency from the GaN host material to the Eu ions. At a d.c. current of 20 mA, the light output power and external quantum efficiency were 17 μW and 0.04%, respectively. These results indicate the feasibility of GaN:Eu to realize a GaN-based red emitter for fabrication of nitride-based monolithic optical devices.     

Study on modulating the indium composition in InGaN quantum wells to improve the luminous efficiency of GaN LED

This study primarily used metal-organic chemical vapor deposition to grow gallium nitride (GaN) light-emitting diode (LED) structures with InGaN quantum wells (QWs). During the InGaN QW growing process, an identical concentration of trimethylindium gas was prepared and introduced at different times (Before(B), Middle(M), and After(A)) into the QW structures for an investigation of the variation in GaN LED luminous efficacy. Because of segregation resulting from the different concentrations of In content of the InGaN QWs during the process and because of the stress resulting from lattice mismatch between atoms, the interaction between segregation and stress forms quantum dots (QDs). Under processes with the appropriate parameters, the QDs can improve the luminous efficacy of GaN LEDs. Postprocess LEDs were measured for their electroluminescence, photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, thermal stability, light output power, and external quantum efficiency. The QW structures were analyzed and observed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed that the Before (B) LED had the greatest light output power at 46.6 mW, an increase of approximately 15.6%. Thermal annealing was then used to treat the LED at 850 °C, after which the photoluminescence intensity increased by 1.7 times.

     

High-efficiency InGaN/GaN/AlGaN light-emitting diodes with short-period InGaN/GaN superlattice for 530–560 nm range

A new method of forming the active region in high-efficiency InGaN/GaN/AlGaN light-emitting diode (LED) structure for long-wave green range is described. The introduction of a short-period InGaN/GaN superlattice situated immediately under the emitting quantum well and overgrown with GaN layer at reduced temperature leads to a more than tenfold increase in the efficiency of emission. For the proposed LEDs, the maximum quantum efficiency was 12% at 552 nm and 8% at 560 nm.     

Nano-scaled Pt/Ag/Ni/Au contacts on p-type GaN for low contact resistance and high reflectivity

We synthesized the vertical-structured LED (VLED) using nano-scaled Pt between p-type GaN and Ag-based reflector. The metallization scheme on p-type GaN for high reflectance and low was the nano-scaled Pt/Ag/Ni/Au. Nano-scaled Pt (5 A) on Ag/Ni/Au exhibited reasonably high reflectance of 86.2% at the wavelength of 460 nm due to high transmittance of light through nano-scaled Pt (5 A) onto Ag layer. Ohmic behavior of contact metal, Pt/Ag/Ni/Au, to p-type GaN was achieved using surface treatments of p-type GaN prior to the deposition of contact metals and the specific contact resistance was observed with decreasing Pt thickness of 5 A, resulting in 1.5 x 10(-4) ohms cm2. Forward voltages of Pt (5 A)/Ag/Ni contact to p-type GaN showed 4.19 V with the current injection of 350 mA. Output voltages with various thickness of Pt showed the highest value at the smallest thickness of Pt due to its high transmittance of light onto Ag, leading to high reflectance. Our results propose that nano-scaled Pt/Ag/Ni could act as a promising contact metal to p-type GaN for improving the performance of VLEDs.     

Influence of a SiN mask on GaN layer by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

GaN layers with an in-situ SiN mask were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and the physical properties of the GaN layer were examined. Also, PN junction light emitting diode (LED) was fabricated to investigate the effect of the SiN mask on its optical property. When inserting a SiN mask, (102) the full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreased from 480 to 409 arcsec and threading dislocation (TD) density decreased from 3.21 × 10⁹ to 9.7 × 10⁸ cm⁻². The photoluminescence (PL) peak intensity of the sample with a SiN mask increased two times than that of the sample without a SiN mask. The output power of the LED with a SiN mask increased from 198 to 392 mcd at 20 mA, too. We found that a SiN mask improved significantly the physical and optical properties of the GaN layer.     

类金字塔状GaN微米结构的生长及其形貌表征

采用金属有机化学气相沉积(MOCVD)技术,在非掺杂GaN层上原位生长SiNx掩模层,制备了形貌可控的类金字塔状GaN微米结构,并系统研究了生长温度、生长时间、反应压力和Ⅴ/Ⅲ比等不同生长参数对其形貌的影响。研究结果表明,在生长温度为1 075℃时,所生长的GaN呈现出类金字塔状微米锥结构;当生长时间由3 min延长至20 min时,微米锥的底面直径由3.6μm增大到19.8μm,密度由3.8×10~3cm~(-2)降低至0.8×10~3cm~(-2);压力及Ⅴ/Ⅲ比共同决定该结构顶部的微观形貌(锥状或截顶锥状)。本工作的研究结果为GaN微钠米结构的原位可控生长奠定了一定基础,并有助于三维GaN基LED器件的进一步发展。     

Photonic crystal light-emitting diodes fabricated by microsphere lithography

Instead of using conventional electron lithography, a two-dimensional photonic crystal consisting of a hexagonal array of triangular air-holes was created on the surface of a GaN LED substrate using microsphere lithography. The microspheres self-assemble into a single-layered hexagonal-close-packed array acting as an etch mask. A significant enhancement in photoluminescence intensity was recorded from the PhC LED structure. A twofold increase in electroluminescence was observed from the PhC LED compared to an as-grown LED with identical geometry. Besides geometrical factors due to surface roughening, the dispersive nature of PhCs and diffractive properties of the PhC as a grating contribute to the enhancement of light extraction from the LED.     

Electron Holographic Study of Semiconductor Light‐Emitting Diodes

Semiconductor light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), especially GaN‐based heterostructures, are widely used in light illumination. The lack of inversion symmetry of wurtzite crystal structures and the lattice mismatch at heterointerfaces cause large polarization fields with contributions from both spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric polarization, which in turn results in obvious quantum confined stark effect. It is possible to alleviate this effect if the local electrostatic fields and band alignment induced charge redistribution can be quantitatively determined across the heterostructures. In this Concept, the applications of electron holography to investigate semiconductor LEDs are summarized. Following the off‐axis electron holography scheme, the GaN‐based LED heterostructures including InGaN/GaN‐based quantum wells, other GaN‐based quantum wells, and other forms of GaN‐based LED materials are discussed, focusing on the local potential drops, polarization fields, and charge distributions. Moreover, GaAs‐based LED heterostructures are briefly discussed. The in‐line electron holography scheme emphasizes the capability of large area strain mapping across LED heterostructures with high spatial resolution and accuracy, which is combined with quantitative electrostatic measurements and other advanced transmission electron microscopy characterizations to provide an overall nanometer scale perspective of LED devices for further improvement in their electric and optical properties.     

Performance enhancement of GaN-based light-emitting diodes by surface plasmon coupling and scattering grating

Using the analysis of the evanescent surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode at the GaN/Ag interface as basis, we propose a light-emitting diode (LED) structure with a plasmonic Ag nanostructure and sapphire grating to enhance external quantum efficiency. The 2D finite-difference time-domain method is used to study the spectral properties of the hybrid structure and the effects of structural parameters on light emission enhancement. The plasmonic Ag nanostructure couples recombination energy to the SPP modes at the GaN/Ag interface, whereas the sapphire grating scatters photons out of the LED chips with high extraction efficiency. Under optimal parameters, external quantum efficiency enhancement increases to approximately eighteen times the original value at a relatively long wavelength.     

Direct grafting of long-lived luminescent indicator dyes to GaN light-emitting diodes for chemical microsensor development

Two new methods for covalent functionalization of GaN based on plasma activation of its surface are presented. Both of them allow attachment of sulfonated luminescent ruthenium(II) indicator dyes to the p- and n-type semiconductor as well as to the surface of nonencapsulated chips of GaN light-emitting diodes (blue LEDs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the functionalized semiconductor confirms the formation of covalent bonds between the GaN surface and the dye. Confocal fluorescence microscopy with single-photon-timing (SPT) detection has been used for characterization of the functionalized surfaces and LED chips. While the ruthenium complex attached to p-GaN under an oxygen-free atmosphere gives significantly long mean emission lifetimes for the indicator dye (ca. 2000 ns), the n-GaN-functionalized surfaces display surprisingly low values (600 ns), suggesting the occurrence of a quenching process. A photoinduced electron injection from the dye to the semiconductor conduction band, followed by a fast back electron transfer, is proposed to be responsible for the excited ruthenium dye deactivation. This process invalidates the use of the n-GaN/dye system for sensing applications. However, for p-GaN/dye materials, the luminescence decay accelerates in the presence of O(2). The moderate sensitivity is attributed to the fact that only a monolayer of indicator dye is anchored to the semiconductor surface but serves as a demonstrator device. Moreover, the luminescence decays of the functionalized LED chip measured with excitation of either an external (laser) source or the underlying LED emission (from p-GaN/InGaN quantum wells) yield the same mean luminescence lifetime. These results pave the way for using advanced LEDs to develop integrateable optochemical microsensors for gas analysis.     

GaN基发光二极管合成照明光源的开发研究

GaN基发光二极管合成照明光源的流明效率与世界公认的200lm／W的目标相比还有较大的差距。详述了材料外延、管芯制作、器件封装以及系统开发应用、照明光源的关键技术的最新进展。     

InGaAlN heterostructures for LEDs grown on patterned sapphire substrates

One of the main factors that limit the maximum attainable efficiency of InGaAlN-based light-emitting diode (LED) structures grown on standard sapphire substrates is the low efficacy of extracting light from devices. A promising solution of this problem consists in using specially profiled (patterned) sapphire substrates. A method for the formation of a special surface microrelief on the sapphire substrates is described. The properties of GaN epilayers and InGaAlN-based LED heterostructures grown on such substrates are presented.     

硅基沉积氮化镓,碳化硅,III –V 族及其合金材料研究进展

硅基沉积氮化镓, 碳化硅, III-V 族及其合金材料是近年来的研究热点. 氮化镓, 碳化硅及其III-V 材料在光电子和电子元件领域有着广泛的应用.例如大功率, 高速器件, 大型激光器, 紫外探测器等等. 尽管硅基片具有低成本, 大的尺寸,和极好的电热导性能等优点, 硅基片仍没有成为氮化镓, 碳化硅及III – V 的主要沉积基片, 其原因在于硅基片与氮化镓, 碳化硅及III-V 材料之间的热膨胀系数和晶格常数之间的失配. 自从1998年, IBM 的课题组用分子外延方法在硅基片上沉积氮化镓, 并且成功地制备了氮化镓激光器之后, 硅基氮化镓的研究开始备受关注. 近年来的研究发现, 使用氧化铝和氮化铝镓作为过渡层. 硅基氮化镓的热应力及与硅基片之间的晶格失配可以明显降低.在 6英寸的(111) 取向的硅基片上用化学气相方法可以成功地沉积超过一个微米厚的无裂纹的单晶氮化镓. 德国的AZZURRO 公司成功地制备硅基片氮化镓的大功率的蓝色激光器. 美国的NITRINEX公司也生产了硅基氮化镓大功率电子元件. 超大功率的硅基氮化镓电子元件仍在研究中. 在2007年, 英国政府设立了一个固体照明器件的研究项目. 主要着手研究6英寸的硅基氮化镓激光器. 另一方面, 在过去的40年, 超大规模硅基CMOS 技术已有了长足的发展, 下一代低功耗高速逻辑电路要求低的驱动电流, 小的活门尺寸低于 30 nm 和快速反应性能. 这就要求器件通道材料具有很高的电子(或空穴)迁移率. III-V 材料, 例如InSb, InAs, 和InGaAs 具有电子迁移率高达 80000 cm2/VS. 它们将是下一代低于 30 nm 硅基CMOS 器件最好的候选材料. 在 2007 年美国DARPA/MTO 设立了一个研究项目来发展硅基 III-V材料器件, 着重于发展高速硅基III-V材料CMOS 器件. 第一届”硅基氮化镓,碳化硅,III-V及其合金材料研究进展 ”国际会议也将于3月 24日-28日在旧金山MRS 2008年初春季会议上召开.     

Localized surface plasmon-induced emission enhancement of a green light-emitting diode

The output enhancement of a green InGaN/GaN quantum-well (QW) light-emitting diode (LED) through the coupling of a QW with localized surface plasmons (LSPs), which are generated on Ag nanostructures on the top of the device, is demonstrated. The suitable Ag nanostructures for generating LSPs of resonance energies around the LED wavelength are formed by controlling the Ag deposition thickness and the post-thermal-annealing condition. With a 20?mA current injected onto the LED, enhancements of up to 150% in electroluminescence peak intensity and of 120% in integrated intensity are observed. By comparing this with a similar result for a blue LED previously published, it is confirmed that surface plasmon coupling for emission enhancement can be more effective for an InGaN/GaN QW of lower crystal quality, which normally corresponds to the emission of a longer wavelength.     

Junction temperature, spectral shift, and efficiency in GaInN-based blue and green light emitting diodes

The junction temperature of homoepitaxial green and blue GaInN/GaN quantum well light emitting diode (LED) dies is analyzed by micro-Raman, photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence mapping, and forward-voltage methods and compared to finite element simulations. Dies on GaN substrate and sapphire were analyzed under variable drive current up to 200 mA (246 A/cm²). At 100 mA, dies on bulk GaN remain as cool as 355 K (83 °C) while dies on sapphire heat up to 477 K (204 °C). The efficiency droop and spectral line shift in green LEDs with increasing current density can now be separated into electrical and thermal contributions.     

Submicrometre resolved optical characterization of green nanowire-based light emitting diodes

The electroluminescent properties of InGaN/GaN nanowire-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) are studied at different resolution scales. Axial one-dimensional heterostructures were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) directly on a silicon (111) substrate and consist of the following sequentially deposited layers: n-type GaN, three undoped InGaN/GaN quantum wells, p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer and p-type GaN. From the macroscopic point of view, the devices emit light in the green spectral range (around 550 nm) under electrical injection. At 100 mA DC current, a 1 mm2 chip that integrates around 10(7) nanowires emits an output power on the order of 10 μW. However, the emission of the nanowire-based LED shows a spotty and polychromatic emission. By using a confocal microscope, we have been able to improve the spatial resolution of the optical characterizations down to the submicrometre scale that can be assessed to a single nanowire. Detailed μ-electroluminescent characterization (emission wavelength and output power) over a representative number of single nanowires provides new insights into the vertically integrated nanowire-based LED operation. By combining both μ-electroluminescent and μ-photoluminescent excitation, we have experimentally shown that electrical injection failure is the major source of losses in these nanowire-based LEDs.     

Enhanced performance of GaN-based light-emitting diodes by using a p-InAlGaN/GaN superlattice as electron blocking layer

The electrical and optical characteristics of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with various kinds of electron blocking layers (EBLs) are analyzed numerically. The results indicate that an enhanced hole injection efficiency and a reduced electron leakage could be achieved with the GaN-based LED where a p-InAlGaN/GaN superlattice (SL) was employed as EBL as compared with the conventional GaN-based LEDs using rectangular p-AlGaN EBL or p-AlGaN/GaN SL EBL. Moreover, it was found that the efficiency droop could be significantly improved at high injection current density for GaN-based LEDs with p-InAlGaN/GaN SL EBL.