Realization of high-efficiency AlGaN deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with polarization-induced doping of the p-AlGaN hole injection layer

We investigate the polarization-induced doping in the gradient variation of Al composition in the pAl_(0.75)Ga_(0.25)N/Al_xGa_(1-x)N hole injection layer(HIL)for deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes(DUV-LEDs)with an ultrathin p-GaN(4 nm)ohmic contact layer capable of emitting 277 nm.The experimental results show that the external quantum efficiency(EQE)and wall plug efficiency(WPE)of the structure graded from 0.75 to 0.55 in the HIL reach 5.49%and 5.04%,which are improved significantly by 182%and 209%,respectively,compared with the structure graded from 0.75 to 0.45,exhibiting a tremendous improvement.Both theoretical speculations and simulation results support that the larger the difference between 0.75 and x in the HIL,the higher the hole concentration that should be induced;thus,the DUV-LED has a higher internal quantum efficiency(IQE).Meanwhile,as the value of x decreases,the absorption of the DUV light emitted from the active region by the HIL is enhanced,reducing the light extraction efficiency(LEE).The IQE and LEE together affect the EQE performance of DUV-LEDs.To trade off the contradiction between the enhanced IQE and decreased LEE caused by the decrease in Al composition,the Al composition in the HIL was optimized through theoretical calculations and experiments.

Enhanced Luminescence of InGaN-Based 395 nm Flip-Chip Near-Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes with Al as N-Electrode

High-reflectivity Al-based n-electrode is used to enhance the luminescence properties of InGaN-based 395nm flip-chip near-ultraviolet （UV） light-emitting diodes. The Al-only metal layer could form the Ohmic contact on the plasma etched n-GaN by means of chemical pre-treatment, with the lowest specific contact resistance of 2.211 × 10^-5 Ω. cm2. The AI n-electrodes enhance light output power of the 395 nm flip-chip near-UV light-emitting diodes by more than 33% compared with the Ti/AI n-electrodes. Meanwhile, the electrical characteristics of these chips with two types of n-electrodes do not show any significant discrepancy. The near-field light distribution measurement of packaged chips confirms that the enhanced luminescence is ascribed to the high refleetivity of the Al electrodes in the UV region. After the accelerated aging test for over 1000 h, the luminous degradation of the packaged chips with Al n-electrodes is less than 3%, which proves the reliability of these chips with the Al-based electrodes. Our approach shows a simplified design and fabrication of high-refleetivity n-electrode for flip-chip near-UV light emitting diodes.

Performance improvement of AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with double electron blocking layers

The AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes（LED） with double electron blocking layers（d-EBLs） on both sides of the active region are investigated theoretically. They possess many excellent performances compared with the conventional structure with only a single electron blocking layer, such as a higher recombination rate, improved light output power and internal quantum efficiency（IQE）. The reasons can be concluded as follows. On the one hand, the weakened electrostatic field within the quantum wells（QWs） enhances the electron–hole spatial overlap in QWs, and therefore increases the probability of radioactive recombination. On the other hand, the added n-AlGaN layer can not only prevent holes from overflowing into the n-side region but also act as another electron source, providing more electrons.

Efficiency enhancement of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with segmentally graded p-type AlGaN layer

AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes(UV-LEDs) have attracted considerable interest due to their wide range of application fields. However, they are still suffering from low light out power and unsatisfactory quantum efficiency.The utilization of polarization-doped technique by grading the Al content in p-type layer has demonstrated its effectiveness in improving LED performances by providing sufficiently high hole concentration. However, too large degree of grading through monotonously increasing the Al content causes strains in active regions, which constrains application of this technique, especially for short wavelength UV-LEDs. To further improve 340-nm UV-LED performances, segmentally graded Al content p-Al_xGa_(1-x)N has been proposed and investigated in this work. Numerical results show that the internal quantum efficiency and output power of proposed structures are improved due to the enhanced carrier concentrations and radiative recombination rate in multiple quantum wells, compared to those of the conventional UV-LED with a stationary Al content AlGaN electron blocking layer. Moreover, by adopting the segmentally graded p-Al_xGa_(1-x)N, band bending within the last quantum barrier/p-type layer interface is effectively eliminated.

Enhanced performance of AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with linearly graded AlGaN inserting layer in electron blocking layer

The conventional stationary Al content Al GaN electron blocking layer(EBL) in ultraviolet light-emitting diode(UV LED) is optimized by employing a linearly graded Al Ga N inserting layer which is 2.0 nm Al_(0.3) Ga_(0.7) N/5.0 nm Alx Ga_(1-x) N/8.0 nm Al_(0.3) Ga_(0.7) N with decreasing value of x. The results indicate that the internal quantum efficiency is significantly improved and the efficiency droop is mitigated by using the proposed structure. These improvements are attributed to the increase of the effective barrier height for electrons and the reduction of the effective barrier height for holes,which result in an increased hole injection efficiency and a decreased electron leakage into the p-type region. In addition,the linearly graded AlGaN inserting layer can generate more holes in EBL due to the polarization-induced hole doping and a tunneling effect probably occurs to enhance the hole transportation to the active regions, which will be beneficial to the radiative recombination.

The Transport Mechanisms of Reverse Leakage Current in Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes

The transport mechanisms of the reverse leakage current in the UV light-emitting diodes （380nm） are investi- gated by the temperature-dependent current-voltage measurement first. Three possible transport mechanisms, the space-limited-charge conduction, the variable-range hopping and the Poole-Frenkel emission, are proposed to explain the transport process of the reverse leakage current above 295 K, respectively. With the in-depth investigation, the former two transport mechanisms are excluded. It is found that the experimental data agree well with the Poole Frenkel emission model. Furthermore, the activation energies of the traps that cause the reverse leakage current are extracted, which are 0.05eV, 0.09eV, and 0.11 eV, respectively. This indicates that at least three types of trap states are located below the bottom of the conduction band in the depletion region of the UV LEDs.

Pterygium associated with light-emitting diode use:a case report

Background:Pterygium is a sun-related ocular surface disease secondary to ultraviolet(UV)radiation exposure.Outdoor occupational UV exposure is known to occur secondary to sun exposure.We present a unique case of pterygium associated with indoor occupational light-emitting diode(LED)exposure not previously described in the literature.Case Description:A mobile phone repairer presented with blurred vision and a superotemporal pterygium of his dominant left eye associated with a magnifying glass LED work lamp was diagnosed.This was excised routinely with conjunctival autografting to the defect.Histopathology confirmed benign pterygium and recovery was uncomplicated with resolution of blur.Conclusions:The development of pterygium in our patient may have arisen due to the LED lamp’s wavelengths possibly falling within the UV as well as the upper end of the visible light radiation spectrum.Given the increasing reliance on LED light sources in modern life,ocular conditions arising from exposure to these radiation sources may now need to be listed in the differential diagnoses of patients with pterygium.Appropriate UV protection counselling for these types of lights may also now need to be considered.

Deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on a well-ordered AlGaN nanorod array

The nanorod structure is an alternative scheme to develop high-efficiency deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes(DUV LEDs). In this paper, we first report the electrically injected 274-nm AlGaN nanorod array DUV LEDs fabricated by the nanosphere lithography and dry-etching technique. Nanorod DUV LED devices with good electrical properties are successfully realized. Compared to planar DUV LEDs, nanorod DUV LEDs present>2.5 times improvement in light output power and external quantum efficiency. The internal quantum efficiency of nanorod LEDs increases by 1.2 times due to the transformation of carriers from the exciton to the free electron–hole, possibly driven by the interface state effect of the nanorod sidewall surface. In addition, the nanorod array significantly facilitates photons escaping from the interior of LEDs along the vertical direction, contributing to improved light extraction efficiency. A three-dimensional finite-different time-domain simulation is performed to analyze further in detail the TE-and TM-polarized photon extraction mechanisms of the nanostructure. Our results demonstrate the nanorod structure is a good candidate for high-efficiency DUV emitters.

Overcoming the fundamental light-extraction efficiency limitations of deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by utilizing transverse-magnetic-dominant emission

While the demand for deep ultraviolet(DUV)light sources is rapidly growing,the efficiency of current AlGaN-based DUV light-emitting diodes(LEDs)remains very low due to their fundamentally limited light-extraction efficiency(LEE),calling for a novel LEE-enhancing approach to deliver a real breakthrough.Here,we propose sidewall emission-enhanced(SEE)DUV LEDs having multiple light-emitting mesa stripes to utilize inherently strong transverse-magnetic polarized light from the AlGaN active region and three-dimensional reflectors between the stripes.The SEE DUV LEDs show much enhanced light output power with a strongly upward-directed emission due to the exposed sidewall of the active region and Al-coated selective-area-grown n-type GaN micro-reflectors.The devices also show reduced operating voltage due to better n-type ohmic contact formed on the regrown n-GaN stripes when compared with conventional LEDs.Accordingly,the proposed approach simultaneously improves optical and electrical properties.In addition,strategies to further enhance the LEE up to the theoretical optimum value and control emission directionality are discussed.

Thermal simulation and analysis of flat surface flip-chip high power light-emitting diodes

Conventional GaN-based flip-chip light-emitting diodes （CFC-LEDs） use Au bumps to contact the LED chip and Si submount, however the contact area is constrained by the number of Au bumps, limiting the heat dissipation performance. This paper presents a flat surface high power GaN-based flip-chip light emitting diode （SFC-LED）, which can greatly improve the heat dissipation performance of the device. In order to understand the thermal performance of the SFC-LED thoroughly, a 3-D finite element model （FEM） is developed, and ANSYS is used to simulate the thermal performance. The temperature distributions of the SFC-LED and the CFC-LED are shown in this article, and the junction temperature simulation values of the SFC-LED and the CFC-LED are 112.80 ℃ and 122.97℃C, respectively. Simulation results prove that the junction temperature of the new structure is 10.17 ℃ lower than that of the conventional structure. Even if the CFC-LED has 24 Au bumps, the thermal resistance of the new structure is still far less than that of the conventional structure. The SFC-LED has a better thermal property.

Prognostics of radiation power degradation lifetime for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes using stochastic data-driven models

With their advantages of high efficiency,long lifetime,compact size and being free of mercury,ultraviolet light-emitting diodes(UV LEDs)are widely applied in disinfection and purification,photolithography,curing and biomedical devices.However,it is challenging to assess the reliability of UV LEDs based on the traditional life test or even the accelerated life test.In this paper,radiation power degradation modeling is proposed to estimate the lifetime of UV LEDs under both constant stress and step stress degradation tests.Stochastic data-driven predic-tions with both Gamma process and Wiener process methods are implemented,and the degradation mechanisms occurring under different aging conditions are also analyzed.The results show that,compared to least squares regression in the IESNA TM-21 industry standard recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America(IESNA),the proposed stochastic data-driven methods can predict the lifetime with high accuracy and narrow confidence intervals,which confirms that they provide more reliable information than the IESNA TM-21 standard with greater robustness.

Large-scale and high-quality III-nitride membranes through microcavity-assisted crack propagation by engineering tensile-stressed Ni layers

Epitaxially grown III-nitride alloys are tightly bonded materials with mixed covalent-ionic bonds.This tight bonding presents tremendous challenges in developing III-nitride membranes,even though semiconductor membranes can provide numerous advantages by removing thick,inflexible,and costly substrates.Herein,cavities with various sizes were introduced by overgrowing target layers,such as undoped GaN and green LEDs,on nanoporous templates prepared by electrochemical etching of n-type GaN.The large primary interfacial toughness was effectively reduced according to the design of the cavity density,and the overgrown target layers were then conveniently exfoliated by engineering tensile-stressed Ni layers.The resulting III-nitride membranes maintained high crystal quality even after exfoliation due to the use of GaN-based nanoporous templates with the same lattice constant.The microcavity-assisted crack propagation process developed for the current III-nitride membranes forms a universal process for developing various kinds of large-scale and high-quality semiconductor membranes.

Aggregation-induced narrowband isomeric fluorophores for ultraviolet nondoped OLEDs by engineering multiple nonbonding interactions

Traditional donor-acceptor type organic luminescent materials usually suffer from unfavorable spectral broadening and fluorescence quenching problems arising from strong inter/intra-chromophore interactions in aggregation state.Here,two ultraviolet carbazole-pyrimidine isomers(named o-DCz-Pm and m-DCz-Pm)with novel aggregation-induced narrowband phenomenon are constructed and systematic investigated by experiments and theoretical simulations.Benefitting from strengthened steric hindrance and multiple noncovalent interactions,the nonradiative decay,vibrational motion,and structural relaxation of singlet state can be effectively suppressed in aggregation state.Consequently,the electroluminescence peak of 397 nm,full width at half maximum of 21 nm and external quantum efficiency of 3.4%are achieved simultaneously in nondoped o-DCz-Pm-based device.This work paves an avenue toward the development of high-performance narrowband nondoped ultraviolet materials and organic light-emitting diodes.