Rapid thermal annealed InGaN/GaN flip-chip LEDs

Nitride-based flip-chip (FC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 465 nm with Ni transparent ohmic contact layers and Ag reflective mirrors were fabricated. With an incident light wavelength of 465 nm, it was found that transmittance of normalized 300/spl deg/C rapid thermal annealed (RTA) Ni(2.5 nm) was 93% while normalized reflectance of 300/spl deg/C RTA Ni(2.5 nm)/Ag(200 nm) was 92%. It was also found that 300/spl deg/C RTA Ni(2.5 nm) formed good ohmic contact on n/sup +/ short-period-superlattice structure with specific contact resistance of 7.8/spl times/10/sup -4/ /spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/. With 20-mA current injection, it was found that forward voltage and output power were 3.15 V and 16.2 mW for FC LED with 300/spl deg/C RTA Ni(2.5 nm)/Ag(200 nm). Furthermore, it was found that reliabilities of FC LEDs were good.     

Nitride-based green light-emitting diodes with high temperature GaN barrier layers

High-quality InGaN-GaN multiquantum well (MQW) light-emitting diode (LED) structures were prepared by temperature ramping method during metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth. It was found that we could reduce the 20-mA forward voltage and increase the output intensity of the nitride-based green LEDs by increasing the growth temperature of GaN barrier layers from 700/spl deg/C to 950/spl deg/C. The 20-mA output power and maximum output power of the nitride-based green LEDs with high temperature GaN barrier layers was found to be 2.2 and 8.9 mW, respectively, which were more than 65% larger than those observed from conventional InGaN-GaN green LEDs. Such an observation could be attributed to the improved crystal quality of GaN barrier layers. The reliability of these LEDs was also found to be reasonably good.     

Low resistance and reflective Mg-doped indium oxide-Ag ohmic contacts for flip-chip light-emitting diodes

We have investigated an Mg-doped In/sub x/O/sub y/(MIO)-Ag scheme for the formation of high-quality ohmic contacts to p-type GaN for flip-chip light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The as-deposited sample shows nonlinear current-voltage (I--V) characteristics. However, annealing the contacts at temperatures of 330/spl deg/C-530/spl deg/C for 1 min in air ambient results in linear I--V behaviors, producing specific contact resistances of 10/sup -4/--10/sup -5/ /spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/. In addition, blue LEDs fabricated with the MIO-Ag contact layers give forward-bias voltages of 3.13-3.15 V at an injection current of 20 mA. It is further shown that LEDs made with the MIO-Ag contact layers give higher output power compared with that with the Ag contact layer. This result strongly indicates that the MIO-Ag can be a promising scheme for the realization of high brightness LEDs for solid-state lighting application.     

Nitride-based MQW LEDs with multiple GaN-SiN nucleation layers

Nitride-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) separately prepared with a conventional single low-temperature (LT) GaN nucleation layer and multiple GaN-SiN nucleation layers were both prepared. It was found that we could reduce defect density and thus improve crystal quality of the GaN-based LEDs by using multiple GaN-SiN nucleation layers. With a 20-V applied reverse bias, it was found that the reverse leakage currents measured from the LED with a single LT GaN nucleation layer and the one with 10-pair GaN-SiN nucleation layers were 1.5/spl times/10/sup -4/ and 2.5/spl times/10/sup -6/ A, respectively. It was also determined that we could use the multiple GaN-SiN nucleation layers to enhance the output intensity of near ultraviolet (UV) LEDs and to improve the reliability of nitride-based LEDs.     

Light-output enhancement in a nitride-based light-emitting diode with 22/spl deg/ undercut sidewalls

We successfully fabricated nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with /spl sim/22/spl deg/ undercut sidewalls. The /spl sim/22/spl deg/ etching undercut sidewalls were achieved by controllable inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. With a 20-mA current injection, the output powers of the LED with /spl sim/22/spl deg/ undercut sidewalls and standard LED were 5.1 and 3 mW, respectively-a factor of 1.7 times enhancement. It was found that such undercut sidewalls could enhance the probability of escaping the photons outside from the LED in the near horizontal and in-plane directions. This simple and controllable method is beneficial to fabricate brighter LEDs.     

Al/sub 0.10/Ga/sub 0.90/As-GaAs microcoolers

GaAs-based microcoolers were fabricated and tested. An Al/sub 0.10/Ga/sub 0.90/As layer grown on GaAs, having a lower thermal conductivity and comparable electrical conductivity to that of the substrate, was employed in the microcooler structure to reduce the heat conduction back from the heat sink. Maximum cooling temperatures of 0.87 /spl deg/C and 2.3 /spl deg/C were obtained at ambient temperatures of 25 /spl deg/C and 100 /spl deg/C, respectively, from 60 /spl times/ 60 /spl mu/m microcoolers.     

Nitride-based LEDs with n/sup -/-GaN current spreading layers

Nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with n/sup -/-GaN current spreading layers were proposed and fabricated. With a 0.1-/spl mu/m-thick n/sup -/-GaN current spreading layer, it was found that the output power could be enhanced by 35% without increasing the operation voltage of the LEDs at 20 mA. In addition, implementing the n/sup -/-GaN current spreading layer also significantly improved the electrostatic discharge characteristics of nitride-based LEDs.     

Near room-temperature continuous-wave operation of all-monolithic InAlGaAs/InP 1.3 /spl mu/m VCSELs

InAlGaAs/InP-based all-monolithic 1.3 /spl mu/m VCSELs operating continuous wave up to 18/spl deg/C are demonstrated. The whole structure is grown by a single step of MOCVD. Selective wet etching of an InP layer is used to form an air-gap aperture for the current confinement. The threshold current of an 8 /spl mu/m device at 15/spl deg/C is /spl sim/2.8 mA.     

High-power highly reliable 1.06 /spl mu/m InGaAs strained-quantum-well laser diodes by low-temperature growth of InGaAs well layers [MOVPE]

High output power of about 800 mW in a chip and stable operation for over 14 000 h under 225 mW at 50/spl deg/C have been achieved in 1.06 /spl mu/m InGaAs strained-quantum-well laser diodes, which were realised by low-temperature growth of the InGaAs well layers.     

Improvement of near-ultraviolet InGaN-GaN light-emitting diodes with an AlGaN electron-blocking layer grown at low temperature

The 400-nm near-ultraviolet InGaN-GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with Mg-doped AlGaN electron-blocking (EB) layers of various configurations and grown under various conditions, were grown on sapphire substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy system. LEDs with AlGaN EB layers grown at low temperature (LT) were found more effectively to prevent electron overflow than conventional LEDs with an AlGaN one grown at high temperature (HT). The electroluminescent intensity of LEDs with an LT-grown AlGaN layer was nearly three times greater than that of LEDs with an HT-grown AlGaN. Additionally, the LEDs with an LT-grown AlGaN layer in H/sub 2/ ambient were found to increase the leakage current by three orders of magnitude and reduce the efficiency of emission.     

Influence of growth temperature and growth rate of p-GaN layers on the characteristics of green light emitting diodes

We investigated the electrical and structural qualities of Mg-doped p-type GaN layers grown under different growth conditions by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Lower 300 K free-hole concentrations and rough surfaces were observed by reducing the growth temperature from 1,040°C to 930°C. The hole concentration, mobility, and electrical resistivity were improved slightly for Mg-doped GaN layers grown at 930°C with a lower growth rate, and also an improved surface morphology was observed. In_0.25Ga_0.75N/GaN multiple-quantum-well light emitting diodes (LEDs) with p-GaN layers grown under different conditions were also studied. It was found from photoluminescence studies that the optical and structural properties of the multiple quantum wells in the LED structure were improved by reducing the growth temperature of the p-layer due to a reduced detrimental thermal annealing effect of the active region during the GaN:Mg p-layer growth. No significant difference in the photoluminescence intensity depending on the growth time of the p-GaN layer was observed. However, it was also found that the electroluminescence (EL) intensity was higher for LEDs having p-GaN layers with a lower growth rate. Further improvement of the p-GaN layer crystalline and structural quality may be required for the optimization of the EL properties of long-wavelength (∼540 nm) green LEDs.     

Three-Layer laminated metal gate electrodes with tunable work functions for CMOS applications

This letter presents a novel technique for tuning the work function of a metal gate electrode. Laminated metal gate electrodes consisting of three ultrathin (/spl sim/1-nm) layers, with metal nitrides (HfN, TiN, or TaN) as the bottom and top layers and element metals (Hf, Ti, or Ta) as the middle layer, were sequentially deposited on SiO/sub 2/, followed by rapid thermal annealing annealing. Annealing of the laminated metal gate stacks at high temperatures (800/spl deg/C-1000/spl deg/C) drastically increased their work functions (as much as 1 eV for HfN-Ti-TaN at 1000/spl deg/C). On the contrary, the bulk metal gate electrodes (HfN, TiN and TaN) exhibited consistent midgap work functions with only slight variation under identical annealing conditions. The work function change of the laminated metal electrodes is attributed to the crystallization and the grain boundary effect of the laminated structures after annealing. This change is stable and not affected by subsequent high-temperature process. The three-layer laminated metal gate technique provides PMOS-compatible work functions and excellent thermal stability even after annealing at 1000/spl deg/C.     

Mg fluctuation in p-GaN layers and its effects on InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes dependent on p-GaN growth temperature

Correlation between material properties of bulk p-GaN layers grown on undoped GaN and device performance of InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a function of p-GaN growth temperature were investigated. The p-GaN layers of both structures grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition were heavily doped with Mg. As the growth temperature of the bulk p-GaN layer increased up to 1,080°C, N_A-N_D increased. However, above 1,110°C, N_A-N_D sharply decreased, while the fluctuation of Mg concentration ([Mg]) increased. At this time, a peculiar surface, which originated from inversion domain boundaries (IDBs), was clearly observed in the bulk p-GaN layer. The IDBs were not found in all LEDs because the p-GaN contact layer was relatively thin. The change in photoluminescence emission from the ultraviolet band to blue band is found to be associated with the fluctuation of [Mg] and IDBs in bulk p-GaN layers. The LED operating voltage and reverse voltage improved gradually up to the p-GaN contact-layer growth temperature of 1,080°C. However, the high growth temperature of 1,110°C, which could favor the formation of IDBs in the bulk p-GaN layer, yielded poorer reverse voltage and saturated output power of the LEDs.     

Temperature-dependent electroluminescence of AlGaN-based UV LEDs

The electrical and optical characteristics of AlGaN-based ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (265-365 nm) at elevated temperatures (25/spl deg/C-175/spl deg/C) were investigated, and compared to those of InGaN-based visible LEDs (400-465 nm). Strong carrier localization and localized-state emission were retained in the InGaN LEDs up to 175/spl deg/C, leading to temperature-independent emission intensity at low-energy tails. The deep-UV LEDs, however, showed dominant band-edge emission, much smaller alloy broadening, and weaker localization effects. The optical power of the UV LEDs decreased much more rapidly with increasing temperature. The characteristic temperature was in the range of 31-73 K, and decreased with increasing Al content in the active region. These findings implicate the lack of localization effects in AlGaN alloys as one of the causal factors in the poor thermal performance of the UV LEDs and suggest that increasing carrier-confining potentials will provide a critical means to improve their radiative efficiencies.     

Highly reliable GaN-based light-emitting diodes formed by p-In/sub 0.1/Ga/sub 0.9/N-ITO structure

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) is deposited as a transparent current spreading layer of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). To reduce the interfacial Schottky barrier height, a thin p-In/sub 0.1/Ga/sub 0.9/N layer is grown as an intermediate between ITO and p-GaN. The contact resistivity around 2.6/spl times/10/sup -2/ /spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ results in a moderately high forward voltage LED of 3.43 V operated at 20 mA. However, the external quantum efficiency and power efficiency are enhanced by 46% and 36%, respectively, in comparison with the conventional Ni-Au contact LEDs. In the life test, the power degradation of the p-In/sub 0.1/Ga/sub 0.9/N-ITO contact samples also exhibits a lower value than that of the conventional ones.     

Improvement of the luminous intensity of light-emitting diodes by using highly transparent Ag-indium tin oxide p-type ohmic contacts

We have investigated Ag-indium tin oxide (ITO) scheme for obtaining high-quality p-type ohmic contacts for GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The Ag(1 nm)-ITO(200 nm) contacts exhibit greatly improved electrical characteristics when annealed at temperatures in the range 400/spl deg/C-600/spl deg/C for 1 min in air, yielding specific contact resistances of /spl sim/10/sup -4/ /spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/. In addition, the contacts give transmittance of about 96% at 460 nm, which is far better than that of the conventionally used oxidized Ni-Au contacts. It is shown that the luminous intensity of blue LEDs fabricated with the Ag-ITO contacts is about three times higher than that of LEDs with oxidized Ni-Au contacts. This result strongly indicates that the Ag-ITO scheme can serve as a highly promising p-type ohmic contact for the realization of high brightness near ultraviolet LEDs.     

Low-threshold operation of 1.34-/spl mu/m GaInNAs VCSEL grown by MOVPE

Low-threshold operation was demonstrated for a 1.34-/spl mu/m vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with GaInNAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy. Optimizing the growth conditions and QW structure of the GaInNAs active layers resulted in edge-emitting lasers that oscillated with low threshold current densities of 0.87 kA/cm/sup 2/ at 1.34 /spl mu/m and 1.1 kA/cm/sup 2/ at 1.38 /spl mu/m, respectively. The VCSEL had a low threshold current of 2.8 mA and a lasing wavelength of 1.342 /spl mu/m at room temperature and operated up to 60/spl deg/C.     

Low-threshold continuous-wave 1.5-/spl mu/m GaInNAsSb lasers grown on GaAs

We present the first continuous-wave (CW) edge-emitting lasers at 1.5 /spl mu/m grown on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). These single quantum well (QW) devices show dramatic improvement in all areas of device performance as compared to previous reports. CW output powers as high as 140 mW (both facets) were obtained from 20 /spl mu/m /spl times/ 2450 /spl mu/m ridge-waveguide lasers possessing a threshold current density of 1.06 kA/cm/sup 2/, external quantum efficiency of 31%, and characteristic temperature T/sub 0/ of 139 K from 10/spl deg/C-60/spl deg/C. The lasing wavelength shifted 0.58 nm/K, resulting in CW laser action at 1.52 /spl mu/m at 70/spl deg/C. This is the first report of CW GaAs-based laser operation beyond 1.5 /spl mu/m. Evidence of Auger recombination and intervalence band absorption was found over the range of operation and prevented CW operation above 70/spl deg/C. Maximum CW output power was limited by insufficient thermal heatsinking; however, devices with a highly reflective (HR) coating applied to one facet produced 707 mW of pulsed output power limited by the laser driver. Similar CW output powers are expected with more sophisticated packaging and further optimization of the gain region. It is expected that such lasers will find application in next-generation optical networks as pump lasers for Raman amplifiers or doped fiber amplifiers, and could displace InP-based lasers for applications from 1.2 to 1.6 /spl mu/m.     

An electrical model with junction temperature for light-emitting diodes and the impact on conversion efficiency

We present an electrical model for quantum-well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a current-spreading layer. The LEDs studied have a multiquantum well (MQW) between p-GaN and the n-GaN grown on sapphire. The model consists of a diode connected with a series resistor resulting from the combined resistance of the p-n junction, contacts, and current spreader. Based upon this model, the I-V curve of the diode itself without the series resistance is extracted from the measured LED I-V curve. The model also includes an empirical diode current equation which was sought by matching the extracted I-V curve. In the seeking process, junction temperature (T/sub j/) rather than case temperature (T/sub c/) was used in the equation. The diode model allows one to calculate the reduction on conversion efficiency caused by the series resistor. Results show that the current-spreading layer causes 20% of the efficiency reduction at T/sub j/=107/spl deg/C.     

High-power highly reliable 1.02-1.06-/spl mu/m InGaAs strained-quantum-well laser diodes

By growing the InGaAs active layer at temperatures lower than in conventional growth, we extended the lasing wavelength and presented the high reliability in InGaAs strained-quantum-well laser diodes. Equivalent I-L characteristics were obtained for 1.02-, 1.05-, and 1.06-/spl mu/m laser diodes with a cavity length of 1200 /spl mu/m. Maximum output power as high as 800 mW and fundamental transverse mode operation at up to 400 mW were obtained at 1.06 /spl mu/m and an 1800-/spl mu/m cavity. Stable operation was observed for over 14 000 h under auto-power-control of 225 mW at 50/spl deg/C for the 1.02-, 1.05-, and 1.06-/spl mu/m lasers with a 900-/spl mu/m cavity.