Electrical current leakage and open-core threading dislocations in AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

Moseley, Michael; Allerman, Andrew; Crawford, Mary; Wierer, Jonathan J.; Smith, Michael; Biedermann, Laura

doi:10.1063/1.4891830

Electrical current leakage and open-core threading dislocations in AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

Journal Article · Thu Aug 07 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4891830· OSTI ID:22314532

Moseley, Michael; Allerman, Andrew; Crawford, Mary; Wierer, Jonathan J.; Smith, Michael; Biedermann, Laura ^[1]

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)

Electrical current transport through leakage paths in AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and their effect on LED performance are investigated. Open-core threading dislocations, or nanopipes, are found to conduct current through nominally insulating Al{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}N layers and limit the performance of DUV-LEDs. A defect-sensitive phosphoric acid etch reveals these open-core threading dislocations in the form of large, micron-scale hexagonal etch pits visible with optical microscopy, while closed-core screw-, edge-, and mixed-type threading dislocations are represented by smaller and more numerous nanometer-scale pits visible by atomic-force microscopy. The electrical and optical performances of DUV-LEDs fabricated on similar Si-doped Al{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}N templates are found to have a strong correlation to the density of these nanopipes, despite their small fraction (<0.1% in this study) of the total density of threading dislocations.

OSTI ID:: 22314532

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 116; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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