Defect-reduction mechanism for improving radiative efficiency in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes using InGaN underlayers
- Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
The influence of a dilute In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N (x ∼ 0.03) underlayer (UL) grown below a single In{sub 0.16}Ga{sub 0.84}N quantum well (SQW), within a light-emitting diode (LED), on the radiative efficiency and deep level defect properties was studied using differential carrier lifetime (DCL) measurements and deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS). DCL measurements found that inclusion of the UL significantly improved LED radiative efficiency. At low current densities, the non-radiative recombination rate of the LED with an UL was found to be 3.9 times lower than the LED without an UL, while the radiative recombination rates were nearly identical. This suggests that the improved radiative efficiency resulted from reduced non-radiative defect concentration within the SQW. DLOS measurement found the same type of defects in the InGaN SQWs with and without ULs. However, lighted capacitance-voltage measurements of the LEDs revealed a 3.4 times reduction in a SQW-related near-mid-gap defect state for the LED with an UL. Quantitative agreement in the reduction of both the non-radiative recombination rate (3.9×) and deep level density (3.4×) upon insertion of an UL corroborates deep level defect reduction as the mechanism for improved LED efficiency.
- OSTI ID:
- 22399398
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 13; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CAPACITANCE
CARRIER LIFETIME
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CURRENT DENSITY
DEEP LEVEL TRANSIENT SPECTROSCOPY
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ENERGY-LEVEL DENSITY
GALLIUM NITRIDES
INDIUM COMPOUNDS
LIGHT EMITTING DIODES
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
QUANTUM WELLS
RECOMBINATION
VISIBLE RADIATION