Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and photocurrent measurements at quasi-resonant laser excitation are combined with electroluminescence studies to get access to low injection losses in high power InGaN/GaN LEDs. A direct relation between electroluminescence and photoluminescence efficiencies with photocurrent is found, indicating that tunneling losses play a key role in the low injection regime. This assertion is confirmed by comparing photoluminescence efficiencies under open and closed circuit conditions. Experiments under various excitation wavelengths hint at the role of resonant tunneling processes in the efficiency losses. Published by AIP Publishing.

The paper provides a brief overview of the aims and main results of IEA Wind Task 33. IEA Wind Task 33 was an expert working group with a focus on data collection and reliability assessment for O&M optimization of wind turbines. The working group started in 2012 and finalized the work in 2016. The complete results of IEA Wind Task 33 are described in the expert group report on recommended practices for "Wind farm data collection and reliability assessment for O&M optimization" which will be published by IEA Wind in 2017. This paper briefly presents the background of the work, the recommended process to identify necessary data, and appropriate taxonomies structuring and harmonizing the collected entries. Finally, the paper summarizes the key findings and recommendations from the IEA Wind Task 33 work.

The thermal droop (reduction of the optical power when the temperature is increased) is a phenomenon that strongly limits the efficiency of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes. In this paper we analyze the role of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination and of the electron blocking layer (EBL) in the process by using numerical simulations and literature data. The benefic impact of EBL suggests that carrier escape from the quantum wells gives a significant contribution to the thermal droop, therefore we review some of the mechanisms described in the literature (thermionic emission, phonon-assisted tunneling, thermionic trap-assisted tunneling). Since no formulation is able to fit the behavior of the measured SQW devices, we develop a new model based on two phonon-assisted tunneling steps through a defective state, extended in order to take into account zero-field emission. By using experimental data, material constants from the literature and only two fitting parameters the model is able to reproduce the experimental behavior.

This paper presents an extensive investigation of the deep levels related to non-radiative recombination in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The study is based on combined optical and deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements, carried out on LEDs with identical structure and with different values of the non-radiative recombination coefficient. Experimental data lead to the following, relevant, results: (i) LEDs with a high non-radiative recombination coefficient have a higher concentration of a trap (labeled as “e2”) with an activation energy of 0.7 eV, which is supposed to be located close to/within the active region; (ii) measurements carried out with varying filling pulse duration suggest that this deep level behaves as a point-defect/dislocation complex. The Arrhenius plot of this deep level is critically compared with the previous literature reports, to identify its physical origin.

We provide an overview of the vertical chip technology and discuss recent improvements that have enabled (AlGaIn)N-based light-emitting diodes to further extend the range of their applications. In particular, the excellent scalability of chip size and low electric losses make related devices predestinated for use in high-power and high-luminance tasks. The evolution from standard vertical chips to the advanced chip design is described from a conceptual as well as from a performance point of view. Excellent stability data under demanding conditions are shown, which are the basis for the operation of devices in automotive applications requiring high reliability at current densities exceeding 3 A/mm2. As the vertical chip technology is not directly dependent on the substrate owing to its removal in the chip process, it is highly flexible with respect to the change of substrate materials to the very promising (111) silicon, for example.

We investigate theoretically the influence of type and density of background carriers in the active region on the quantum efficiency of InGaN-based light emitters using an extension of the ABC rate model. A method to determine experimentally whether a certain type of Auger recombination is relevant in InGaN quantum wells is derived from these considerations. Using this approach, we show that the physical process which is the dominant cause for the efficiency droop is superlinear in the electron density and can thus be assigned to nnp-Auger recombination.