Reduced efficiency droop in blue InGaN light-emitting diodes by thin AlGaN barriers

The phenomenon of efficiency droop in blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is studied numerically. Simulation results indicate that the severe Auger recombination is one critical mechanism corresponding to the degraded efficiency under high current injection. To solve this issue, LED structure with thin AlGaN barriers and without the use of an AlGaN EBL is proposed. The purpose of the strain-compensation AlGaN barriers is to mitigate the strain accumulation in a multiquantum well (MQW) active region in this thin-barrier structure. With the proposed LED structure, the hole injection and transportation of the MQW active region are largely improved. The carriers can thus distribute/disperse much more uniformly in QWs, and the Auger recombination is suppressed accordingly. The internal quantum efficiency and the efficiency droop are therefore efficiently improved. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America