This presentation will provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in the development of AlGaN-based far-UVC-LED technologies. We will explore origins for the observed decline in the external quantum efficiency (EQE) with decreasing emission wavelength and present different approaches to improve the RRE, CIE, and LEE of UV light emitters. We will also discuss design aspects for far-UVC irradiation systems and provide an outlook of future prospects of far-UVC-LED device technology as well as the potential for a wider use of far-UVC sources in applications like room air disinfection.
UVC LEDs are of fundamental importance for many applications, including sterilization and disinfection, thanks to their high efficiency and low environmental impact. However, several physical processes still limit the lifetime and reliability of these devices. We present recent case studies in the field of UVC LED reliability. Initially, we review the performance/efficiency of state-of-the-art commercial devices, and discuss the issues related to LED self-heating, and the related electro-optical transient behavior. Then, we discuss the impact of defects on LED degradation, based on combined deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and deep-level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) measurements, and Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulations. We show that, during prolonged operation, UVC LEDs can show considerable changes in the electrical characteristics: a) an increase in the sub-turn on leakage, that can be reproduced by TCAD as due to an increase in trap-assisted tunneling, related to deep traps located in the interlayer between the last barrier and the EBL; b) an increase in the turn-on voltage, that is explained by the degradation of the metal/p-GaN contact, due to a decrease in the active magnesium concentration. Electro-optical measurements reveal that a stronger degradation is detected at low measuring current levels, confirming an important role of defect-mediated recombination. Remarkably, degradation kinetics do not follow an exponential trend, but can be fitted by using the Hill’s formula. A higher Mg doping in the EBL mitigates the degradation rate. Results are interpreted by considering that degradation is due to the de-hydrogenation of point defects, which increases the density of non-radiative recombination centers.
Electrical and optical excitation of the active region of a UVB LED chip was combined while imaging its in-plane lateral light emission by a UV camera. This made it possible to distinguish between spatial distribution in current density and in efficiency of radiative recombination of charge carriers. It is demonstrated that the degradation of the active region is more prominent in the areas where the local current density increased throughout the long-term operation. It will be shown how the spatial intensity distributions in UVB and UVC LEDs are affected by the operation current, chip design, and mesa edges.
Light emitting diodes in the deep ultraviolet spectral range (DUV-LEDs) are of great interest for monitoring gases, pollutants in water as well as the in-vivo inactivation of multi-drug-resistant bacteria. This paper reviews advances in development of AlGaN-based DUV-LEDs, including the realization of low defect density AlN on sapphire. DUV-LEDs near 230 nm with output powers of more than 3 mW will be demonstrated and the root causes for the efficiency drop at shorter UV wavelength will be explored, including changes in the polarization of light emission, the role of point defects as well as carrier injection in AlGaN MQWs.
Recent advances in optimizing the efficiency and lifetime of far-UVC LEDs with emission wavelengths below 240 nm are presented. The design of the semiconductor heterostructure is considered as well as the chip layout. Cross-comparisons are used to draw general conclusions about degradation mechanisms in UV LEDs and to identify development strategies to minimize them. Furthermore, it is discussed which chip packaging is particularly suitable for a combination of far-UVC LEDs with spectral filters. Finally, far-UVC irradiation systems for skin-friendly irradiation of the human body are presented and their performance is illustrated with selected medical and biological data.
The aging behavior of Quantum Wells (QW) in UVB-emitting devices is analyzed. In addition to the standard lifetime tests, we measured the non-equilibrium carrier lifetime in the QW by time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) and performed spatially resolved PL measurements. In this way, we distinguish the different contributions that lead to a decrease in the emission power of the device. We show that the aging-induced increase of spatial inhomogeneities of the PL also affects the transient PL behavior.
Far-UVC LEDs are interesting for applications such as skin-tolerant inactivation of multiresistant pathogens and gas sensing. We present the development of 233 nm AlGaN-based far-UVC LEDs with an emission power of 3 mW at 200 mA and L50 lifetime of more than 1000 h, after burn-in. Additionally, the design of a far-UVC LED-based irradiation system, with a spectral filter which supresses emission >240 nm, to study the inactivation of bacteria and skin compatibility of the radiation will be presented. The system can be used to homogeneously irradiate a target area of 70 mm diameter with a mean irradiance of 0.4 mW/cm².
Degradation of GaN-based laser diodes after some time of operation appears usually as raised threshold current, lower slope efficiency, or increased voltage. We investigate stressed and non-stressed laser diodes using micro-electroluminescence (μEL) and micro-photoluminescence (μPL). In μEL, the stressed device exhibits darker regions, which are correlated with a red-shifted emission. Both observations indicate a lower carrier density in these darker areas. Our μPL measurements do not suggest a corresponding increased defect density in these regions. This study shows inhomogeneous pumping of the active region that can be explained by current path formation from non-uniform hydrogen distribution. Additionally a background of increased nonradiative recombination is found in the stressed device, which is unrelated to the conductivity degradation.
The market for UV LEDs is experiencing a rapid growth, also driven by the need for effective and efficient disinfection systems. Before UV LEDs can be widely accepted by the market, they need to demonstrate a high reliability, with lifetimes of several thousands of hours. Several physical processes may limit the reliability of UVB and UVC LEDs, resulting in a loss in efficiency during long term operation.
This paper aims at discussing the most relevant processes that can lead to the degradation of UVB and UVC LEDs, with focus on: (i) instability of the electrical properties, which may result in gradual changes in the turn-on voltage of the devices during long-term operation. (ii) The generation of defects within the active region of the devices, with consequent increase in the Shockley-Read-Hall non-radiative recombination rate. Optical spectroscopy is found to be very effective for the identification of deep (midgap) traps during operation of the devices. (iii) trap states near the junction, with consequent impact on trap-assisted-tunneling of the current-voltage characteristics. (iv) the propagation of point defects, especially impurities, and accumulation of charges at heterointerfaces, that can reduce the carrier injection efficiency, thus leading to a decrease in the emitted optical power.
Driven by applications like monitoring of combustion engines, toxic gases, nitrates in water, as well as the inactivation of multi-drug-resistant germs, the development of AlGaN-based light emitting diodes in the deep ultraviolet spectral range (DUV-LEDs) has markedly intensified. This paper will provide a review of recent advances in development of DUV-LEDs, including the realization of low defect density AlGaN heterostructures on sapphire substrates. The performance characteristics of DUV LEDs emitting in the wavelength range between 260 nm and 217 nm will be discussed and milli-Watt power LEDs near 233 nm will be demonstrated.
We analyze changes in carrier recombination in the quantum well (QW) active region of UVB light emitting diodes. For this purpose, we established an experimental approach for in-situ characterization of aging processes by direct comparison of QW luminescence generated by two different pump mechanisms, continuous current injection and shortpulse optical excitation. This allows the quantification of changes in recombination kinetics during device operation. We observe a reduction of the luminescence decay time from ~250 to ~200 ps within the first 42 hours of high current density stress. Moreover, trap-like defect centers are generated or activated, which capture non-equilibrium carriers ultrafast and reduce the luminescence power.
The development of efficient (In)AlGaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) in the ultraviolet B (UVB) spectral region (280nm-320nm) is essential due to their vast commercial potential. UVB LEDs are expected to not only replace traditional mercury lamps in applications such as curing of materials and phototherapy but also to establish new applications in the fields of plant growth and sensing. Although a lot of progress has been made on the performance of the UVB LEDs, the efficiency of the devices as well as the lifetime still needs to be improved. In this study the influence of the heterostructure design and package on the efficiency of UVB LEDs, grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on c-plane sapphire substrates, will be presented. Firstly, the performance of UVB AlGaN and InAlGaN multiple quantum well LEDs were studied and the influence of the material composition on the emission characteristics was analyzed. Secondly, the performance of LEDs with different electron blocking layer (EBL) designs and doping concentrations was compared. The highest internal quantum efficiency and emission power were obtained for LEDs with a gradient-like EBL, with decreasing aluminum content, because of the improved carrier injection. Additionally, the output power of the LEDs was found to increase with the p-doping level in the EBL. Finally, investigations on the influence of the metal contacts and insulator as well as the device packaging on the performance of UVB LEDs will be presented. Based on these optimizations, 315nm LEDs with output powers up to 10mW at 100mA were realized
Single longitudinal mode operation of laterally coupled distributed feedback (DFB) laser diodes (LDs) based on GaN containing 10th-order surface Bragg gratings with V-shaped grooves is demonstrated using i-line stepper lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching. A threshold current of 82 mA, a slope efficiency of 1.7 W/A, a single peak emission at 404.5 nm with a full width at half maximum of 0.04 nm and a side mode suppression ratio of > 23 dB at an output power of about 46 mW were achieved under pulsed operation. The shift of the lasing wavelength of DFB LDs with temperature was around three times smaller than that of conventional ridge waveguide LDs.
UV LEDs are usually mounted in flip-chip technology by soldering or thermocompression bonding to allow the UV light to be emitted through the sapphire substrate. The thermal conductivity of solders is considerably smaller than that of the typical metals used for packaging such as Cu, Ag or Au. For thermosonic- or thermocompression bonding pure metals can be used, however, the contact area is reduced in comparison to soldered contacts. Thermal simulations with different ratios of the number and size of stud bumps to the total area illustrate the direct influence of these parameters on the thermal resistance. The deformation during the bonding process as a function of the processing temperature and the applied force is discussed together with the influence of preprocessing, e.g. coining. Approaches are presented to increase the bonding area to 70 % of the total pad area of the chip. The improvements in the thermal resistance are demonstrated by lock-in-thermography and SEM investigations.
The aim of this work is to analyze the degradation in (In)AlGaN-based UV-B LEDs, with a nominal emission wavelength of 310 nm, submitted to constant current stress at a high current density of 350 A/cm2. We observed two main degradation mechanisms that were studied by investigating the evolution of the main emission peak from the quantum well (QW) and of a parasitic peak centered at 340 nm. In the first 50 hours of stress the main peak decreases and the parasitic peak (probably related to radiative recombination in the quantum barrier next to the electron blocking layer) increases at drive currents between 5 mA and 50 mA. Secondly, after 50 hours of stress both the main and the parasitic peak decrease. The first degradation mode could be related to carrier escape from the QWs, since the increase in the parasitic peak is correlated with the decrease in the main peak. After 50 hours of stress, we observed that the current below the turn-on voltage at V = 2 V increases with a square-root of time dependence. This behavior indicates the presence of a diffusion process, probably by point defects causing an increase of non-radiative recombination in the LED.
The paper reports the analysis of (In)AlGaN-based UV-B LEDs degradation under constant current stress, and investigates the impact of defects in changing the devices electro-optical performance. The study is based on combined electro-optical characterization, deep-level transient- (DLTS) and photocurrent spectroscopy. UV-B LEDs show a decrease of the optical power during stress, more pronounced at low measuring current levels, indicating that the degradation is related to an increase of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination. DLTS measurements allowed the identification of three defects, in particular one ascribed to Mg-related acceptor traps presence. Photocurrent spectroscopy allows the localization of the defects close to the mid-gap.
In this paper we report on the influence of the heterostructure design of (InAlGa)N-based UV-B LEDs grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on sapphire substrates on the degradation behavior of the device. Two types of LEDs with different heterostructure design, resulting in peak-wavelengths of about 290 nm and 310 nm, respectively, were stressed at a constant operation current of 100 mA and a heat sink temperature of 20°C. Electro-optical characterization of the LEDs over 1.000 h of operation shows two different degradation modes with respect to the change of the emission spectrum and leakage current. The first mode during the initial hours (290 nm LED: 0 h - 500 h, 310 nm LED: 0 h – 100 h) of operation is represented by a fast reduction of the quantum well (QW) luminescence, a constant or increasing parasitic luminescence between 310 nm and 450 nm and a fast increase of the reverse- and forward-bias leakage current. These changes are more pronounced (higher degradation rate) in the 290 nm LEDs and can therefore be attributed to the different heterostructure design. In contrast, the second degradation mode at longer operation times (290 nm LED: >500 h, 310 nm LED: >100 h) is marked by a slow reduction of both the QW and the parasitic luminescence, as well as a slow increase of the leakage current which are similar for both types of LEDs. Furthermore, the second mode is marked by a square-root time dependence of the QW luminescence intensity, indicating a diffusion process to be involved.
UV light emitters in the UV-B spectral range between 280 nm and 320 nm are of great interest for applications such as phototherapy, gas sensing, plant growth lighting, and UV curing. In this paper we present high power UV-B LEDs grown by MOVPE on sapphire substrates. By optimizing the heterostructure design, growth parameters and processing technologies, significant progress was achieved with respect to internal efficiency, injection efficiency and light extraction. LED chips emitting at 310 nm with maximum output powers of up to 18 mW have been realized. Lifetime measurements show approximately 20% decrease in emission power after 1,000 operating hours at 100 mA and 5 mW output power and less than 30% after 3,500 hours of operation, thus indicating an L50 lifetime beyond 10,000 hours.
We present UV-C LEDs emitting around 235 nm grown by MOVPE on ELO AlN/sapphire substrates. In order to account for the low conductivity of high Al content AlGaN layers and the associated high contact resistances, we designed an optimized compact LED geometry based on electro-thermal simulations of the current spreading. Experimental data (layer and contact resistances) are collected on test structures and used as input parameters for 3-D current spreading simulations. With resistances of the layers (n and p) approaching 0.1 Ωcm, the use of a segmented p-area with broad n-contact fingers (10 μm or more) that are close to the mesa edge (5 μm) help to maximize the emission power in the center of the structure. Based on this knowledge a series of compact LEDs of size 500 μm x 500 μm is designed and simulated. We get confirmation that the segmentation of the p-area is the most critical parameter to limit the non-uniformity introduced by the high n-sheet resistances. Up to 17% in emission power can be gained when the n-contacts are designed properly. LEDs with the optimum geometry were processed and measured. We get a good confirmation of our model concerning the distribution of the emission power. Both simulations and measurements show current crowding at the edge of the n-contact, however the power loss in the middle of the chip is higher than predicted.
The laser threshold and lateral mode confinement of blue (440 nm) InGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) laser diodes
have been investigated. Ridge-waveguide (RW) laser diodes with different ridge etch depth ranging from 25 nm above
the active region (deep-ridge waveguide) to 200 nm above the active region (shallow-ridge waveguide) have been
fabricated. The comparison of devices with the same resonator length shows that the threshold current densities are
significantly lower for deep-ridge waveguide laser diodes. The difference in lasing threshold becomes more eminent for
narrow ridges, which are required for single mode operation. For shallow-ridge devices the threshold current density
increases by more than a factor of three when the ridge width is decreased from 20μm to 1.5μm. For the deep-ridge
waveguide devices instead, the lasing threshold is almost independent of the ridge waveguide width.
The effect has been analyzed by 2D self-consistent electro-optical simulations. For deep-ridge devices, the simulated
thresholds and far-field patterns are in good agreement with the simulations. For shallow-ridge devices, however,
questionable theoretical assumptions are needed. Two possible causes are discussed: extremely large current spreading
and strong index anti-guiding.
The optical polarization of the in-plane emission of c-plane oriented (In)(Al)GaN multiple quantum well light emitting
diodes in the spectral range from 288 nm to 386 nm has been investigated by electroluminescence measurements. The
intensity of transverse-electric polarized light relative to the transverse-magnetic polarized light decreases with
decreasing emission wavelength. This effect is attributed to the different electronic band structures in the active region of
the light emitting diodes. A changing aluminum and indium mole fraction in the (In)(Al)GaN quantum wells results in a
rearrangement of the valence bands at the Γ-point of the Brillouin zone. For shorter wavelengths the crystal-field splitoff
hole band moves closer to the conduction band relative to the heavy and light hole bands and as a consequence the
transverse-magnetic polarized emission increases. Moreover, the in-plane polarization is shown to depend on the
injection current. The correlation between the in-plane polarization and the injection current has been found to be
different for light emitting diodes with InGaN and (In)AlGaN multiple quantum wells. The results highlight that
polarization effects need to be considered when optimizing the light extraction from ultraviolet light emitting diodes in
the (In)AlGaN materials system.
KEYWORDS: Semiconductor lasers, Waveguides, Quantum wells, Pulsed laser operation, High power lasers, Reliability, Gallium arsenide, High power diode lasers, Inductance
High power diode lasers are the root source of optical energy in all high performance laser systems. As their performance
advances, diode lasers are increasingly taking the place of other sources. Short pulse, sub-microsecond-class, high power
lasers are important for many applications but historically, diode lasers have not been able to reach high enough peak
pulse powers with adequate reliability, limited by physical effects such as facet failure. By combining robust facet
passivation with thick super large optical cavity waveguides, greatly increased optical output power can be achieved. We
present here the results of a study using commercial high current short pulse sources (>200A, <500ns) to assess the
performance and endurance limits of high power broad area devices. We find that our lasers can be driven with a peak
power density of over 110MWcm-2 without failure for more than 3×107 pulses. For example, on testing to 240A, single
emitter 200μm stripe 1100nm broad area devices reach 124W (46μJ) without failure, and 60μm stripes reach 88W. In
practice, high injection effects such as carrier accumulation in waveguide typically limit peak power. We review these
remaining limitations, and discuss how they can be overcome.
High power broad area diode lasers provide the optical energy for all high performance solid state and fiber laser
systems. The maximum achievable power density from such systems is limited at source by the performance of the diode
lasers. A crucial metric is the reliable continuous wave optical output power from a single broad area laser diode,
typically for stripe widths in the 90-100 μm range, which is especially important for users relying on fibered multi-mode
pumps. We present the results of a study investigating the reliable power limits of such 980nm sources. We find that
96μm stripe single emitters lasers at 20°C operate under continuous wave power of 20W per emitter for over 4000 hours
(to date) without failure, with 60μm stripe devices operating reliably at 10W per stripe. Maximum power testing under
10Hz, 200μs QCW drive conditions shows that 96μm stripes reach 30W and 60μm stripes 21W per emitter, significantly above the reliable operation point. Results are also presented on step-stress-studies, where the current is step-wise increased until failure is observed, in order to clarify the remaining reliability limits. Finally, we detail the barriers to increased peak power and discuss how these can be overcome.
Challenges for the MOVPE growth of LED heterostructures for emission in the UV-A and UV-B spectral range are
discussed. Special attention is given to the effects of strain in the In(Al)GaN active region as well as in the complete
layer stack. Here in-situ monitoring of wafer bowing is shown to be an important tool for optimization of the growth
sequence. We will compare different buffer layer technologies, in particular GaN/sapphire for LEDs emitting at 380 nm
and AlN/AlGaN buffer for shorter wavelength LEDs. By increasing the aluminum content in the InAlGaN multiplequantum-
well active region and by optimizing the composition and doping profile of the electron blocking layers UV
LEDs with emission wavelength between 380 nm and 318 nm are demonstrated.
MOVPE grown InGaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LEDs) on c-plane (0001) sapphire emitting at 375 nm with GaN, Al0.16Ga0.84N and InxAl0.16GaN-barrier layers were investigated in order to study the influence of the barrier composition on the light output characteristics of near UV devices. By substituting the GaN barrier layers with Al0.16Ga0.84N the output power increased 30-fold due to the increased band-offset between the In0.03Ga0.97N QWs and the barriers. The addition of 3.3% indium to the AlGaN barriers resulted in a reduction of the FWHM, and a 50-fold increase in light output power compared to LEDs with GaN barriers. Even though the band-offset and hence the carrier confinement for the InAlGaN barriers is smaller than in the case of AlGaN barriers, strain compensated In0.03Al0.16Ga0.79N barrier layers seem to be greatly beneficial for the external quantum efficiency of the near UV LEDs. The effect of an n-type Al0.23Ga0.77N hole-blocking-layer, which was inserted below the MQW stack to prevent hole carrier leakage from UV LED active region, on the light output was also investigated. By incorporating strain compensated In0.03Al0.16Ga0.79N barriers and an Al0.23Ga0.77N hole blocking layer we were able to realize 375 nm LEDs with an output of 1 mW (measured on-wafer) at 100 mA. Finally, the wavelength dependence of the light output from UV LEDs with InGaN MQWs emitting between 375 nm and 381 nm with peak output power of 4 mW at 200 mA for the longer wavelength devices is shown.
We demonstrate 940nm diode lasers with more than 100W QCW output power having an aperture width 5 to 10 times
smaller than commonly used 10mm bars. We used a super-large vertical waveguide structure to reduce the facet load.
The waveguide design results in a very small vertical divergence of only 14° FWHM (24° including 95% of power). The
threshold current of a device with 1mm wide aperture is about 8A and the slope efficiency is above 70%. The lateral far
field width is below 10°, including 95% of power, and the wall plug efficiency is around 50% at 100W output power.
KEYWORDS: Near field, Semiconductor lasers, Near field optics, High power lasers, Reliability, Waveguides, Modulation, Resistance, Control systems, Surgery
High-power diode lasers operating at 808 nm and consisting of a multiple ridge-waveguide structure have been
fabricated. Lasers with this structure show a more stable far and near field pattern in comparison to conventional single
stripe broad area lasers. A reliable continuous wave operation at room temperature over 8000 h at 8 W and 800 h at 10 W
has been achieved with 200 &mgr;m stripe width devices.
Infrared Spectroscopic Ellipsometry is presented as a feasible and novel technique for contactless and nondestructive measurement of free-carrier and crystal-structure properties in the characterization of complex semiconductor heterostructures for device applications. Infrared-active lattice modes and coupling of free-carrier plasmons to longitudinal-optical lattice phonon modes strongly affect the infrared-optical response of semiconductor materials. Analysis of ellipsometry data from 2 micrometers to 100 micrometers can provide precise information on phonon mode frequencies and broadening parameters, static dielectric constants, free-carrier concentration, and free-carrier mobility at optical frequencies of III-V compound semiconductors, even for films with thicknesses only a fraction of the probing wavelengths. Alloy composition, strain, crystal quality, and free-carrier properties of constituent layers in thin-film structures, designed for optoelectronic or electronic device applications, can be derived. We demonstrate the characterization of coherent and incoherent light emitter structures based on group-III-nitride materials, where information such as concentration and mobility of free carriers in n- and p-type regions, thickness, composition, and quality of device constituents are accessible.
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