Investigation of efficiency droop in GaN-based UV LEDs with N-type AlGaN underlayer

The efficiency droop in InGaN-based 380nm UV light emitting device (LED) with n-GaN and n-AlGaN underlayer grown on sapphire substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was investigated. From simulation result of high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) ω-2θ curve by using dynamical diffraction theory, the Al composition in the n-AlGaN layer was determined to be about 3%. The experimental results of temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) demonstrated that the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of n-GaN and n-AlGaN UV-LEDs are 43% and 39%, respectively, which are corresponding to an injected carrier density of 8.5 × 10¹⁷ #/cm³. It could be explained that the crystal quality of n-GaN is better than of n-AlGaN. In addition, the observation of pit density from atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface morphology is consistent with the interpretation. It was well-known that the pits appearing on the surface in the virtue of the threading dislocations. Thus, it means that defects induce the non-radiative centers and deteriorate the IQE of the UV-LED with n-AlGaN underlayer.