Sidewall passivation for InGaN/GaN nanopillar light emitting diodes

Journal Article · Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4885455· OSTI ID:22306242

Choi, Won Hyuck; Abraham, Michael; Yu, Shih-Ying ^[1]; You, Guanjun; Liu, Jie; Wang, Li; Xu, Jian ^[2]

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1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States)
2. Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States)

We studied the effect of sidewall passivation on InGaN/GaN multiquantum well-based nanopillar light emitting diode (LED) performance. In this research, the effects of varying etch rate, KOH treatment, and sulfur passivation were studied for reducing nanopillar sidewall damage and improving device efficiency. Nanopillars prepared under optimal etching conditions showed higher photoluminescence intensity compared with starting planar epilayers. Furthermore, nanopillar LEDs with and without sulfur passivation were compared through electrical and optical characterization. Suppressed leakage current under reverse bias and four times higher electroluminescence (EL) intensity were observed for passivated nanopillar LEDs compared with unpassivated nanopillar LEDs. The suppressed leakage current and EL intensity enhancement reflect the reduction of non-radiative recombination at the nanopillar sidewalls. In addition, the effect of sulfur passivation was found to be very stable, and further insight into its mechanism was gained through transmission electron microscopy.

• OSTI ID: 22306242
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 116, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
DAMAGE
EFFICIENCY
ELECTROLUMINESCENCE
EQUIPMENT
ETCHING
GAIN
GALLIUM NITRIDES
INDIUM COMPOUNDS
LEAKAGE CURRENT
LIGHT EMITTING DIODES
PASSIVATION
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE
POTASSIUM HYDROXIDES
RECOMBINATION
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY