Improved Vertical Carrier Transport for Green III-Nitride LEDs Using ( In , Ga ) N Alloy Quantum Barriers
Abstract
We report on experimental and simulation-based results using alloy quantum barriers in c-plane green light-emitting diode (LED) structures as a means to improve vertical carrier transport and reduce forward voltage . Three-dimensional device simulations that include random alloy fluctuations are used to understand carrier behavior in a disordered potential. The simulated current density–voltage (J-V) characteristics and modified electron-hole overlap indicate that increasing the indium fraction in the quantum barriers leads to a reduced polarization discontinuity at the interface between the quantum barrier and quantum well, thereby reducing and improving . Maps of electron and hole current through the device show a relatively homogenous distribution in the plane for structures using quantum barriers; in contrast, preferential pathways for vertical transport are identified in structures with barriers as regions of high and low current. A positive correlation between hole (electron) current in the p-side (n-side) barrier and indium fraction reveals that preferential pathways exist in regions of high indium content. Furthermore, a negative correlation between the strain and indium fraction shows that high indium content regions have reduced strain-induced piezoelectric polarization in the Z direction due to the mechanical constraint of the surrounding lower indium content regions. Experimentally, multiple quantum well green LEDs with quantum barriers exhibit lower and blue-shifted wavelengths relative to LEDs with quantum barriers, consistent with simulation data. These results can be used to inform heterostructure design of low , long-wavelength LEDs and provide important insight into the nature of carrier transport in III-nitride alloy materials.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
- National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan). Graduate Inst. of Photonics and Optoelectronics
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France). Lab. de Physique de la Matière Condensée
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF); Simons Foundation; Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST); French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1979649
- Grant/Contract Number:
- EE0008204; DMS-1839077; 601952; 601954; 108-2628-E-002-010-MY3; 111-2923-E-002-009; ANR-20-CE05-0037-01; DMR-1121053
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Applied
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 17; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Physics; localization; optoelectronics; transport phenomena; disordered alloys; III-V semiconductors; LEDs; epitaxy; methods in transport
Citation Formats
Lynsky, Cheyenne, Lheureux, Guillaume, Bonef, Bastien, Qwah, Kai Shek, White, Ryan C., DenBaars, Steven P., Nakamura, Shuji, Wu, Yuh-Renn, Weisbuch, Claude, and Speck, James S. Improved Vertical Carrier Transport for Green III-Nitride LEDs Using (In,Ga)N Alloy Quantum Barriers. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.17.054048.
Lynsky, Cheyenne, Lheureux, Guillaume, Bonef, Bastien, Qwah, Kai Shek, White, Ryan C., DenBaars, Steven P., Nakamura, Shuji, Wu, Yuh-Renn, Weisbuch, Claude, & Speck, James S. Improved Vertical Carrier Transport for Green III-Nitride LEDs Using (In,Ga)N Alloy Quantum Barriers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.17.054048
Lynsky, Cheyenne, Lheureux, Guillaume, Bonef, Bastien, Qwah, Kai Shek, White, Ryan C., DenBaars, Steven P., Nakamura, Shuji, Wu, Yuh-Renn, Weisbuch, Claude, and Speck, James S. Tue .
"Improved Vertical Carrier Transport for Green III-Nitride LEDs Using (In,Ga)N Alloy Quantum Barriers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.17.054048. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1979649.
@article{osti_1979649,
title = {Improved Vertical Carrier Transport for Green III-Nitride LEDs Using (In,Ga)N Alloy Quantum Barriers},
author = {Lynsky, Cheyenne and Lheureux, Guillaume and Bonef, Bastien and Qwah, Kai Shek and White, Ryan C. and DenBaars, Steven P. and Nakamura, Shuji and Wu, Yuh-Renn and Weisbuch, Claude and Speck, James S.},
abstractNote = {We report on experimental and simulation-based results using (In,Ga)N alloy quantum barriers in c-plane green light-emitting diode (LED) structures as a means to improve vertical carrier transport and reduce forward voltage (VF). Three-dimensional device simulations that include random alloy fluctuations are used to understand carrier behavior in a disordered potential. The simulated current density–voltage (J-V) characteristics and modified electron-hole overlap |Fmod|2 indicate that increasing the indium fraction in the (In,Ga)N quantum barriers leads to a reduced polarization discontinuity at the interface between the quantum barrier and quantum well, thereby reducing VF and improving |Fmod|2. Maps of electron and hole current through the device show a relatively homogenous distribution in the XY plane for structures using GaN quantum barriers; in contrast, preferential pathways for vertical transport are identified in structures with (In,Ga)N barriers as regions of high and low current. A positive correlation between hole (electron) current in the p-side (n-side) barrier and indium fraction reveals that preferential pathways exist in regions of high indium content. Furthermore, a negative correlation between the strain εzz and indium fraction shows that high indium content regions have reduced strain-induced piezoelectric polarization in the Z direction due to the mechanical constraint of the surrounding lower indium content regions. Experimentally, multiple quantum well green LEDs with (In,Ga)N quantum barriers exhibit lower VF and blue-shifted wavelengths relative to LEDs with GaN quantum barriers, consistent with simulation data. These results can be used to inform heterostructure design of low VF, long-wavelength LEDs and provide important insight into the nature of carrier transport in III-nitride alloy materials.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevapplied.17.054048},
journal = {Physical Review Applied},
number = 5,
volume = 17,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Tue May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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