High Al content (Al,G)aN is the most promising material system to produce deep UV light-emitting diodes and lasers and has prospects to realize high power electronics. Growth of these layers on native AlN substrates with low dislocation densities holds the promise to realize devices with high external quantum efficiency. Recent results, however, show despite high structural perfection large hexagonal hillocks, with a lateral extent of several µm form, depending on the film thickness. In this paper we combine AFM, defect selective etching, CL, TEM and nano-beam scanning X-ray diffraction to experimentally disentangle the mutual influence of surface steps, dislocations, strain, and composition on the forming surface morphology. To rationalize our experimental findings, we develop a theoretical model that accounts for the adatom kinetics of Al and Ga on the growth surface in the presence of a-type dislocations.
UV-C radiation for disinfection applications is used for decades. The major light source in most of these applications is the mercury containing UV-C low-pressure discharge lamp. Compared to this mature technology the UV-C LED is still new and in the introduction phase. LEDs enable new applications which cannot or have not been addressed by conventional lamps before. The radiant power, efficiency and price performance of today’s UV-C LEDs show a significant gap to the conventional lamp and a direct replacement of the current technology seems to be very challenging. In this paper we are trying to estimate the point of time by when UV-C LEDs are able to replace conventional UV-C lamps in different applications by performing a total cost of ownership calculation of the UV-C source at several time points in the future based on roadmaps for different performance parameters and considerations of the respective application efficiencies. A comparison of the applications upper air treatment, secondary air treatment, batten fixture surface treatment and municipal water treatment shows that in some applications a lamp replacement by LED is already realistic today. The significant difference of the application efficiency between LED and lamp-based systems lead to an earlier possible adoption of the LED technology than expected from a direct comparison of the performance parameters of the sources itself.
We review recent advances in the understanding of the green gap phenomenon, the drastic reduction of quantum efficiency of c-plane InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) towards the green spectral region. In particular, we have decoupled the contributions of Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, quantum-confined Stark effect and hole localization in the random alloy. We show that the latter, significantly increasing with Indium content, plays a crucial role in the reduction of efficiency, as localized holes do not only possess lower overlap with delocalized electrons in the quantum well, but also appear to enhance Auger recombination.
For our study we use an electro-optical pump and probe scheme[1], which is most suitable to obtain differential carrier lifetimes in device operating conditions. In combination with conventional pulsed electroluminescence measurements, the internal quantum efficiency and recombination rates of the different processes can be determined. Temperature-dependent analyses then allow to assign recombination losses to the different underlying limitations (i.e. random alloying, polarity, defect density)[2].
[1] F. Nippert et al., Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 55, 05FJ01 (2016)
[2] F. Nippert et al., Applied Physics Letters 109, 161103 (2016)
Efficiency of commercial 620 nm AlGaInP Golden Dragon-cased high-power LEDs has been studied under extremely high pump current density up to 4.5 kA/cm2 and pulse duration from microsecond down to sub-nanosecond range. To understand the nature of LED efficiency decrease with current, pulse width variation is used. Analysis of the pulse-duration dependence of the LED efficiency and emission spectrum suggests the active region overheating to be the major factor controlling the LED efficiency reduction at CW and sub-microsecond pumping. The overheating can be effectively avoided by the use of sub-nanosecond current pulses. A direct correlation between the onset of the efficiency decrease and LED overheating is demonstrated.
Today’s InGaN-based white LEDs still suffer from a significant efficiency reduction at elevated current densities, the so-called “Droop”. Core-shell microrods, with quantum wells (QWs) covering their entire surface, enable a tremendous increase in active area scaling with the rod’s aspect ratio. Enlarging the active area on a given footprint area is a viable and cost effective route to mitigate the droop by effectively reducing the local current density. Microrods were grown in a large volume metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) reactor on GaN-on-sapphire substrates with a thin, patterned SiO2 mask for position control. Out of the mask openings, pencil-shaped n-doped GaN microrod cores were grown under conditions favoring 3D growth. In a second growth step, these cores are covered with a shell containing a quantum well and a p-n junction to form LED structures. The emission from the QWs on the different facets was studied using resonant temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements. The crystal quality of the structures was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showing the absence of extended defects like threading dislocations in the 3D core. In order to fabricate LED chips, dedicated processes were developed to accommodate for the special requirements of the 3D geometry. The electrical and optical properties of ensembles of tens of thousands microrods connected in parallel are discussed.
With the new Generation of InGaN-based thinfilm Chips efficacies of 110/lm/W and output power of 32 mW at 20 mA
(5 mm Radial lamp, 438nm, chip-size 255&mgr;m x 460&mgr;m) are reached. Due to the scalability of the ThinGaN concept chip
brightness and efficiency are scalable to larger chip sizes: the brightness achieved for a 1 mm2 ThinGaN Power chip at
350 mA were 495mW (445nm) and 202mW or 100 lm (527nm). White LEDs with phosphorus achieved 102 lm at
350mA, mounted in an OSTAR module with six LED chips 1200 lm were demonstrated at 1000 mA driving current.
White emitting automotive headlamp modules with 620lm (5x 1mm2 chip at 700mA) and 41 MCd/m2 as well as green
emitting projection modules with 57 MCd/m2 at 2A/mm2 drive current and 12mm2 chip area are realized. These
technological improvements demonstrate the straight way of GaInN-LEDs for Solid State lighting.
An additional approach to further improve the reliability of ZnSe based devices is to use beryllium containing II-VI compounds. BeS, BeSe and BeTe are characterized by a considerable amount of covalent bonding and a high bond energy. This distinguishes these materials from the conventional ionic wide gap II-VI semiconductors like ZnSe, ZnTe or CdTe. Recently, thin film structures using Be- compounds have been fabricated and characterized. It became clear that--besides the application aspects--these materials are also very interesting from a more fundamental point of view. Using Be-containing II-VI compounds, ionic and covalent lattice matched II-VI materials can be combined in quantum well structures. The type II band alignment of BeTe and ZnSe gives additional freedom in the band gap engineering, and it is possible to grow lattice method quaternaries of low polarity onto silicon. Here, basic principles of Be containing II-VI compounds will be described, and the potential of these novel materials will be discussed.
Beryllium containing ZnSe-based compound semiconductors introduce substantial additional degrees of freedom for the design of wide gap II-VI heterostructures. Interesting aspects are the lattice matching of BeTe with its high lying valence band and high p-type dopability for the growth of graded gap contacts capable of carrying high current densities, as well as the expected strengthening of quaternary beryllium compounds like BeMgZnSe as compared to the II-VI materials used on the basis of ZnMgSSe. They have a large covalency and therefore large bond energy. The covalency of BeSe e.g. is expected to be as high as the one of GaN. The fabrication of light emitting devices like LEDs and laser diodes is reported.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.