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Temperature-Dependent Charge Carrier Diffusion in [0001¯] Direction of GaN Determined by Luminescence Evaluation of Buried InGaN Quantum Wells
Temperature-dependent transport of photoexcited charge carriers through a nominally undoped, c-plane GaN layer toward buried InGaN quantum wells is investigated by continuous-wave and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The excitation of the buried InGaN quantum wells is dominated by charge carrier diffusion through the GaN layer; photon recycling contributes only slightly. With temperature decreasing from 310 to 10 K, the diffusion length in [0001⎯⎯] direction increases from 250 to 600 nm in the GaN layer. The diffusion length at 300 K also increases from 100 to 300 nm when increasing the excitation power density from 20 to 500 W cm−2. The diffusion constant decreases from the low-temperature value of ∼7 to 1.5 cm2 s−1 at 310 K. The temperature dependence of the diffusion constant indicates that the diffusivity at room temperature is limited by optical phonon scattering. Consequently, higher diffusion constants in GaN-based devices require a reduced operation temperature. To increase diffusion lengths at a fixed temperature, the effective recombination time has to be prolonged by reducing the number of nonradiative recombination centers.
Improved Efficiency of Ultraviolet B Light-Emitting Diodes with Optimized p-Side
The effects of design and thicknesses of different optically transparent p-current spreading layers [short-period superlattice, superlattice (SL), and bulk p- (Formula presented.)] as well as the type and thickness of the p-GaN cap layer on the electrical and optical characteristics of 310 nm ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated. Scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements display self-organized composition variations in the nonpseudomorphically grown SLs, reducing the effect of increased hole injection efficiency of a SL. In addition, the effect leads to an increased operation voltage. In contrast, the bulk p-AlGaN layer has a uniform composition and the corresponding LEDs show only a slightly lower output power along with a lower operating voltage. If the thickness of the p-AlGaN bulk layer in the LED is reduced from 150 nm to 50 nm, the output power increases and the operating voltage decreases. Finally, LEDs with a nonuniform (Formula presented.) -GaN cap layer from a 3D island-like growth mode feature the highest output power and operating voltage. In contrast, the output power and operating voltage of LEDs with a smooth and closed cap depend on the thickness of (Formula presented.) -GaN. The highest output power and lowest operating voltage are achieved for LEDs with the thinnest (Formula presented.) -GaN cap. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH