1. BLUE LED Rubaeat Umar M.Sc. Nanoelectronic Systems(3rd Semester)
Fakultät Electrotechnik und Informationstechnik
BLUE LED
Rubaeat Umar
M.Sc. Nanoelectronic Systems(3rd Semester)
TU Dresden,

2. Outline 24.01.2017 Blue LED Introduction: What is an LED
LED: working principle, p-n homojunction LED and Double Hetero-structure (DH) LED
Light Emitting Materials: Direct and Indirect bandgap Semiconductor
White light using Blue LED and Impact of Blue LED: Efficiency improvement and energy savings
The Beginning: GaN on Sapphire
Enabling the commercial LED: Active layer InGaN development
References
Blue LED

3. Introduction: What is an LED
A Light Emitting Diode (LED) produces light of a single color by combining holes and electrons in a semiconductor.
Prof. Shuji Nakamura: Inventor of Blue LED
Noble Prize in Physics,2014
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4. LED : working principle
LED is a p–n junction diode. Under unbiased condition, the built in potential barrier prevents the excess free electrons on the n side from diffusing into the p side.
When the p-n junction is forward biased, the built-in potential is reduced . This allows the electrons from the n side to get injected into the p-side .
Electron and hole recombination takes place in the junction region within the device. The transition of electrons from an high energy level into a lower energy level causes the emission of light (emission of photons). This type of emission is spontaneous emission of photons (light). This effect is called injection electroluminescence.
During transition from E2 energy level to E1 energy level, the energy difference is transferred into the emitted photon.
The color of the light (the energy of the photon) is determined by the band gap energy of the semiconductor.
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5. Double Hetero-structure (DH) LED
This optoelectronic device is composed of semiconductor materials and is fabricated by sandwiching an active, emitting layer between an n-type and p-type layer.
The n-type semiconductor layer has an abundance of high-energy electrons, whereas the p-type semiconductor has an abundance of available, empty sites in which the electron may reside at a lower energy level. These sites are also referred to as holes, are positively charged, and are mobile.
The energy difference between the high and low energy electron state is referred to as the bandgap of the material. For DH LEDs, the bandgap of the active layer is smaller than that of the n-type and p-type layers.
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6. Double Hetero-structure (DH) LED
When forward biasing a DH LED using a battery, electrons and holes are injected into the active layer from n-type and p-type layer, respectively.
The electrons and holes recombine radiatively, in the active layer, thereby emitting photons.
This act is very efficient for DH LEDs as the electrons and holes are confined to the active layer due to the smaller bandgap of the active layer with respect to the n-type and p-type cladding layers.
The resulting photon has an energy approximately equal to the bandgap of the active layer material.
Modifying the bandgap of the active layer creates photons of different energies.
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7. Light Emitting Materials
Direct Band gap Semiconductor:
There are no momentum difference between electron (e) and hole (h) in the conduction band and valence band.
Recombination of e and h results in the emission of a photon:
e + h → photon: This is a two-particle-process with a high probability.
Radiating transitions dominates (e.g. GaAs, InP, GaN, InGaN)
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8. Light Emitting Materials
Indirect Band gap Semiconductor:
Because of different momentum of electrons and holes,a lattice vibration (phonon) is necessary to transfer the momentum.
Non radiating transitions dominate (e.g. Si, Ge)
Therefore semiconductors with indirect band gap are ineffective emitter.
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9. Highly efficient white light sources become possible using blue LEDs
This can be achieved by converting part of the blue light emitted from an LED to yellow using a phosphor. To the human eye, the combination of blue and yellow light is perceived as white. A white LED can be created by embedding phosphors in a plastic cap which surrounds a blue LED.
High quality white light can also be created by mixing blue light with other colors as well, including red and green.
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10. Impact of the white LED: Efficiency Improvement
The most important impact of the white LED is its ability to generate white light at an efficiency that was previously impossible.
The efficiency, a measure of generated light power relative to the provided electrical power, of white light has improved over the centuries.
Starting with oil lamps (0.1 lm/W) in the 15,000s B.C., incandescent bulbs (16 lm/W) in the 19th century, fluorescent lamps (70 lm/W) in the 20thcentury, and LEDs (300 lm/W) in the 21st century
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11. Impact of the white LED: Substantial Energy Savings
It is currently estimated that in 2030 approximately 261 TWh of electrical energy will be saved due to widespread use of white LEDs
This corresponds to an electricity savings of approximately 40% in 2030.
Furthermore, this reduction in energy usage eliminates the need for at least 30 1-GW power plants by 2030
Avoids generating 185 million tons of CO2.
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12. Blue Light: Wavelength range and Photon Energy
Blue Light has wavelength in the range of nm in the visible spectrum
The photon energy for Blue light is in the range of eV .
(source:wikipedia/visible spectrum)
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13. Material of choice for Blue LED: ZnSe VS. GaN
In the 1980s, there were two semiconductor materials have the potential to be considered as possible candidates for efficient blue LEDs: zinc selenide (ZnSe,Bandgap 2.7 eV) and Gallium nitride GaN (Bandgap 3.4 eV). How to create ZnSe or GaN?
ZnSe could be grown on single crystal gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates, yielding high structural quality material given the very small lattice mismatch of 0.3% between ZnSe and GaAs.
Single crystal growth of material on top of different, available single crystal:
For GaN, on the other hand, no lattice-matched substrate was available and researchers were forced to grow it on sapphire (Al2O3).
The large lattice mismatch (~ 16%) resulted in heavily defected material with a high density of dislocations.
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14. GaN on Sapphire: Heavily Defected
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15. ZnSe vs. GaN for Blue LED: research 1989
ZnSe on GaAs Substrate
◦ High Crystal Quality: Dislocation density < 1x103 cm-2
◦ very popular among scientists: Commonly accepted in 1970s—1980s: LEDs need dislocation density < 1x10^3 cm-2
◦ Very Active Research: > 99 % of researchers
GaN on Sapphire Substrate
◦ Poor Crystal Quality: Dislocation density > 1x 109 cm-2
◦ Little Research: < 1 % of researchers
( Prof. Shuji Nakamura, fellow Nobe Laureates Prof. Isamu Akasaki and his graduate student Hiroshi Amano)
GaN Actively Discouraged:
◦ “GaN has no future”
◦ “GaN people have to move to ZnSe material”
However, the instability of ZnSe due to its low bonding energy, short lifespan of
ZnSe based optical devices, and compelled Nakamura to opt for GaN for working on the development of Blue LED
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16. Development of GaN: Contribution of Prof. Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano
Professor Akasaki and his student Amano had developed a novel, research-scale MOCVD reactor for growth of GaN crystal/ Aluminum Nitride (AlN) buffer layer /sapphire substrate.
Their design required exceptionally high carrier gas velocities (around 4.25 m/s) yielding GaN, though the high carrier velocities presented challenges related to uniformity, scalability and reproducibility.
Furthermore, their reactor design could only be used for small area growths, thereby lacking the necessary properties for commercialization.
Another challenge related to growing high quality GaN was the use of high concentrations of aluminum in the MOCVD reactor.
The use of aluminum caused significant problems to the MOCVD reactor resulting in poor reproducibility in subsequent GaN growths.
Eliminating the use of high concentrations of aluminum during growth was strongly desired.
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17. Development of GaN: Prof. Shuji Nakamura – Two flow MOCVD Invention
Shuji Nakamura succeeded for the first time in growing high quality GaN film on GaN buffer layer instead of AlN buffer layer.
He invented a novel MOCVD reactor design with a low carrier gas flow (1 m/s) called a two-flow MOCVD. Using this reactor, very uniform and high quality 2-inch GaN growth was achieved.
The main breakthrough of this reactor was the introduction of a subflow which gently pushed the carrier gases down to the substrate, thereby also improving the thermal boundary layer.
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18. GaN Crystal Quality: Two flow MOCVD
One measure for crystal quality is the value of the electron mobility in a crystal.
Fewer defects result in fewer scattering events, which enhances overall mobility of the electrons.
Highest Hall mobilities reported to date:
Single flow MOCVD
No Buffer: 50 cm2/V s
AlN Buffer: 450 cm2/V s
Two flow MOCVD:
No Buffer: 200 cm2/V s
GaN Buffer: 600 cm2/V s (at 300 K)
Hall mobility measurements at 77 K (●) and 300 K (■) for a 4 μm thick GaN film grown on sapphire as a function of the GaN buffer layer thickness.
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19. 24.01.2017 Blue LED P-type GaN Activation
Akasaki and Amano achieved a major breakthrough in 1989 by demonstrating local p-type GaN after treating magnesium doped GaN(GaN:Mg) with low-energy electron beam irradiation (LEEBI), its origin was not understood for another three years
In 1992, Nakamura clarified that hydrogen was the source of passivating p-type GaN.
For MOCVD growth of GaN, ammonia (NH3) is used as the nitrogen source. Ammonia dissociates during growth and atomic hydrogen is introduced into the GaN crystal.
The hydrogen atom forms a magnesium hydrogen complex (Mg-H) with Mg present in the crystal, thereby preventing Mg from acting as an electron acceptor.
Thermal annealing of the GaN:Mg sample in a hydrogen-free environment above approximately 400 °C permits hydrogen to diffuse out of the crystal, thereby breaking up the Mg-H complex. it has become the industrial standard process for p-type activation of GaN.
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20. Passivation of p-type GaN
Discovery: Hydrogen (H+) is source of passivation of p-type GaN
As grown MOCVD GaN contains significant hydrogen concentrations
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21. Thermal Annealing in H+ free environment :Activation of p-type GaN
Prior: Everyone annealed in H+ containing environment: no p-type GaN
Thermal Annealing in H+ free environment: p-type GaN, Industrial Process Compatible
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22. First p-n homojunction LED
With the ability to grow n-type and p-type GaN, p-n homojunction LEDs (DH LEDs lacking an active layer) can be formed.
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23. Drawbacks of p-n Homojunction LED And Advantage of DH LED
For LEDs to be useful for real world applications, the light output power needs to be well in excess of 1 mW.
P-n homojunction LEDs cannot reach those levels of output power without generating substantial amounts of waste heat, in large part due to the inefficient device structure.
Additionally, p-n homo junction LEDs produce light of a fixed wavelength given the exclusive use of GaN, which has a fixed band gap.
The most efficient LED designs make use of a Double Hetero-structure. The concept and invention of the hetero-structure in semiconductor materials was so significant that it earned the Nobel Prize in Physics for Zhores Ivanovich Alferov and Herbert Kroemer in 2000.
Double hetero structures increase carrier concentrations (n) in the active layer and enhance radiative recombination rates (more light generated).
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24. Development of Active Light Emitting Layer for DH LED: InGaN
Achieving a high quality active layer with the necessary properties to form a DH LED is the last and, arguably, the most critical step towards achieving a commercializable and efficient Blue LED.
Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) was identified as the ideal candidate for the active layer.
Through addition of indium into the GaN crystal, the electrical bandgap of the material shrinks, thereby providing both the ability to confine carrier in a DH arrangement, but also provide the ability to tune the color of the light by changing the amount of indium in the InGaN alloy.
Despite this realization, high quality layers of InGaN could not be realized in the 1970s and 1980s. Room temperature band-to-band emission, essential for the active layer of a DH LED, could not be achieved given the defective nature of the InGaN material.
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25. Challenges associated with InGaN growth
Challenges associated with InGaN growth, which is in many ways more challenging to grow than p-type or n-type GaN.
Typical growth temperatures of GaN (~ 1000 °C), Indium would boil off the surface and not incorporate into the crystal.
On the other hand, Growth at lower temperatures yielded poor crystal quality along with numerous defects and impurity incorporation.
Growths at intermediate temperatures required uniform and stable growth temperatures, as the incorporation of indium is strongly dependent on the temperature, with a few degrees differences across the substrates resulting in noticeable variations in output color across the wafer.
Furthermore, in order to effectively use InGaN in a DH LED, excellent control over the various growth parameters is required, as the interface between GaN and InGaN needs to be smooth on an atomic level.
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26. Challenges associated with InGaN growth
The MOCVD reactor requires precise control over all growth parameters and superior uniformity across the entire surface to achieve exceptionally thin layers of high quality (a layer is typically composed of a few 10s to 100s of atom layer thicknesses in DH LEDs).
To make matters even more challenging, introduction of indium into the GaN lattice results in significant strain since indium is roughly 20% bigger in size than gallium. Managing this strain and preventing the formation of defects within the layer is important.
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27. High quality InGaN layer using the two-flow MOCVD: Contribution of Prof.Nakamura
In 1992, Mukai and Nakamura succeeded in growing a high quality InGaN layer using the two-flow MOCVD on a GaN template grown on a sapphire substrate
Room Temperature Photo luminescence showed a strong band-to-band emission from violet to blue depending on the indium composition of the InGaN layers.
With this demonstration, the last remaining barrier for efficient blue LEDs was overcome opening the doors for rapid development of high brightness, high power, high efficiency blue LEDs using the DH structure.
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28. First demonstration of a blue DHLED (1993)
The first demonstration of a blue DH LED occurred in 1993 with a p-GaN/n-InGaN/n-GaN structure
The active layer was a Si-doped InGaN layer with a thickness of 20 nm.
The LED showed strong band-edge emission in the InGaN layer yielding blue light with a wavelength of 440 nm under forward bias conditions.
The output power and the EQE were 125 µW and 0.22%, respectively, at a forward current of 20 mA.
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29. First commercially available blue LED:1994
The structure of this DH LED was p-GaN/p-AlGaN/Zn-doped InGaN/n-AlGaN/n-GaN.
The first commercially available blue LED with an output power of 2.5 mW, an EQE of 2.7% and the emission wavelength of 450nm
The Zn-doped InGaN active layer had a thickness of 45 nm and was used due to an observed increase in luminous efficiency.
For the first time, an electron-blocking layer was introduced into the structure. The p-AlGaN prevented electrons from overflowing the electron confinement provided by the active layer, further enhancing radiative recombination.
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30. Contributions towards efficient blue LED
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31. Thank you.
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32. References
Background Story of the Invention of Efficient Blue InGaN Light Emitting Diodes, Nobel Lecture, December 8, 2014,SHUJI NAKAMURA, REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS, VOLUME 87, OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2015
Nakamura, S., Y. Harada, and M. Seno, 1991, “Novel metalorganic chemical vapor deposition system for GaN growth,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 2021.
Nakamura, S., 1991, “GaN Growth Using GaN Buffer Layer,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 30, L1705
Nakamura, S., N. Iwasa, M. Senoh, and T. Mukai, 1992, “Hole Compensation Mechanism of P-Type GaN Films,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 31, 1258.
S. Nakamura, T. Mukai, M. Senoh, N. Iwasa, “Thermal Annealing Effects on P-Type Mg-Doped GaN Films,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 1992, 31, L139–L142.
S. Nakamura, T. Mukai, and M. Senoh, “High-power GaN p-n junction blue-lightemitting diodes,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 1991, 30, L1998–L2001.
S. Nakamura, Y. Harada, M. Seno, “Novel metalorganic chemical vapor deposition system for GaN growth,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 1991, 58, 2021–2023.
S. Nakamura, M. Senoh, T. Mukai, “p-GaN/n-InGaN/n-GaN DoubleHeterostructure Blue-Light-Emitting Diodes,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 1993, 32, L8–L11.
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