Impact of doped barriers on the recombination coefficients of c-plane InGaN/GaN single quantum well light-emitting diodes

Chow, Yi Chao; Lynsky, C.; Nakamura, S.; DenBaars, S. P.; Weisbuch, C.; Speck, J. S.

doi:10.1063/5.0117318

Impact of doped barriers on the recombination coefficients of c-plane InGaN/GaN single quantum well light-emitting diodes

Journal Article · Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0117318· OSTI ID:2418014

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University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); OSTI
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, Palaiseau (France)

Differential carrier lifetime measurements were performed on c-plane InGaN/GaN single quantum well (QW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of different QW indium compositions as well as with and without doped barriers. Mg-doped p-type and Si-doped n-type barriers close to the QW were used to reduce the net internal electric field in the QW, thereby improving the electron–hole wavefunction overlap on the LEDs. LEDs with doped barriers show short lifetimes and low carrier densities in the active region compared to the reference LEDs. The recombination coefficients in the ABC model were estimated based on the carrier lifetime and quantum efficiency measurements. The improvement in the radiative coefficients in the LEDs with doped barriers coupled with the blueshift of the emission wavelengths indeed indicates an enhancement in wavefunction overlap and a reduction of quantum confined Stark effect as a result of the reduced internal electric field. However, doped barriers also introduce non-radiative recombination centers and thereby increase the Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) coefficient, although the increment is less for LEDs with high indium composition QWs. As a result, at high indium composition (22%), LEDs with doped barriers outperform the reference LEDs even though the trend is reversed for LEDs with lower indium composition (13.5%). In conclusion, despite the trade-off of higher SRH coefficients, doped barriers are shown to be effective in reducing the internal electric field and increasing the recombination coefficients.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); Sandia National Laboratories; Simons Foundation; USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008204; EE0009691

OSTI ID:: 2418014

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1896547

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 121; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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42 ENGINEERING
Doping
Epitaxy
Light emitting diodes
Nitrides
Physics
Quantum efficiency
Quantum wells
Recombination reactions
Stark effect

Impact of doped barriers on the recombination coefficients of c-plane InGaN/GaN single quantum well light-emitting diodes

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