Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger Recombination in Blue InGaN Tunnel-Junction Light-Emitting Diodes

In this study, performance and characteristics of blue InGaN tunnel-junction light-emitting diode (TJ LED) are investigated theoretically. Simulation results show that, dissimilar to the single LED, Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) and Auger recombination are critical issues influencing the output performance of blue TJ LEDs in both low and high current regions. In realizing high-performance TJ LEDs, to pursue the advantages of both satisfactory crystalline quality and suppressed SRH recombination loss, a simplified structure with single quantum well and without electron-blocking layer is proposed as the unit LED structure that is utilized to stack the TJ LED. Simulation results indicate that the TJ LED with simplified unit LED structure possesses good performance at high output power, which provides a practical and cost-effective way for the fabrication of TJ LEDs, especially when more unit LEDs need to be cascaded.