Surface-textured reflectors fabricated by natural lithography and ion beam etching have a specular and a diffusive component of the reflectivity. The diffusely and specularly reflected powers of surface-textured reflectors are measured and analyzed quantitatively in terms of a theoretical model. The diffusive-power-to-total-power ratio is determined and shown to strongly depend on the surface texture. The light extraction efficiency from a waveguide clad by a partially diffuse reflector is analyzed and shown to be enhanced.

A theoretical and experimental analysis of light extraction in GaInN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) employing diffuse omnidirectional reflectors is presented. The diffuse omnidirectional reflector consists of GaN, a Ni/Au current spreading layer, a SiO2 layer roughened by Ar ion etching, and a Ag layer. Randomly distributed polystyrene spheres are used as an etch mask. The diffusely reflected power is enhanced by two orders of magnitude for a roughened reflector surface compared with a planar surface. The GaInN LEDs with diffuse omnidirectional reflectors show a higher light output (>3.3%) and a lower angular dependence of emission than LEDs with specular reflectors. The enhancement is attributed to reduced trapping of light within the high-index GaN semiconductor. (c) 2005 The Electrochemical Society.

Enhancement of light extraction in a GaInN light-emitting diode (LED) employing a conductive omnidirectional reflector (ODR) consisting of GaN, an indium-tin oxide (ITO) nanorod low-refractive-index layer, and an Ag layer is presented. An array of ITO nanorods is deposited on p-type GaN by oblique-angle electron-beam deposition. The refractive index of the nanorod ITO layer is 1.34 at 461nm, significantly lower than that of dense ITO layer, which is n=2.06. The GaInN LEDs with GaN∕low-n ITO/Ag ODR show a lower forward voltage and a 31.6% higher light-extraction efficiency than LEDs with Ag reflector. This is attributed to enhanced reflectivity of the ODR that employs the low-n ITO layer.

The junction temperature of red (AlGaInP), green (GaInN), blue (GaInN), and ultraviolet (GaInN) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is measured using the temperature coefficients of the diode forward voltage and of the emission-peak energy. The junction temperature increases linearly with DC current as the current is increased from 10 mA to 100 mA. For comparison, the emission-peak-shift method is also used to measure the junction temperature. The emission-peak-shift method is in good agreement with the forward-voltage method. The carrier temperature is measured by the high-energy-slope method, which is found to be much higher than the lattice temperature at the junction. Analysis of the experimental methods reveals that the forward-voltage method is the most sensitive and its accuracy is estimated to be ± 3°C. The peak position of the spectra is influenced by alloy broadening, polarization, and quantum confined Stark effect thereby limiting the accuracy of the emission-peak-shift method to ±15°C. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of a tri-chromatic white LED source (consisting of three types of LEDs) is performed. The analysis reveals that the chromaticity point shifts towards the blue, the color-rendering index (CRI) decreases, the color temperature increases, and the luminous efficacy decreases as the junction temperature increases. A high CRI > 80 can be maintained, by adjusting the LED power so that the chromaticity point is conserved.

Triple-layer omni-directional reflectors (ODRs) consisting of a semiconductor, a transparent quarter-wavelength dielectric layer and metal layer have high reflectivities at all angles of incidence. In this paper, triple-layer ODRs are demonstrated that incorporate nanoporous SiO 2 , a novel low-refractive-index (low-n) material with refractive indices n ≪ 1.46 as well as dense SiO 2 (n = 1.46). GaP and Ag serve as the semiconductor and metal layer materials, respectively. An angle-integrated transverse electric (TE) mode reflectivity of R avg | TE = 99.9 % and transverse magnetic (TM) mode reflectivity R avg | TM = 98.9 % are calculated for the triple-layer ODRs employing nanoporous SiO 2 . Reflectivity measurements, including the angular dependence of R, are presented. Novel hybrid ODRs consisting of semiconductor, a several micron thick low-n dielectric material layer, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and metal layer have outstanding reflectivities for all incident angles. GaP and Ag serve as the semiconductor and metal layer, respectively. Nanoporous SiO 2 is used as the low-n material. TiO 2 and dense SiO 2 serve as the DBR materials. The angle-intergrated reflectivities of the TE and TM modes are calculated to be larger than 99.9 % for the hybrid ODRs. The results indicate the great potential of the ODRs for light-emitting diodes with high light extraction efficiency.

The junction temperature and thermal resistance of AlGaN and GaInN ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 295 and 375 nm, respectively, are measured using the temperature coefficient of diode-forward voltage. An analysis of the experimental method reveals that the diode-forward voltage has a high accuracy of ±3°C. A comprehensive theoretical model for the dependence of diode-forward voltage (V f) on junction temperature (T j) is developed taking into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap and the temperature coefficient of diode resistance. The difference between the junction voltage temperature coefficient (dV j/dT) and the forward voltage temperature coefficient (dV f/dT) is shown to be caused by diode series resistance. The data indicate that the n-type neutral regions are the dominant resistive element in deep-UV devices. A linear relationship between junction temperature and current is found. Junction temperature is also measured by the emission-peak-shift method. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored in the measurement of carrier temperature.

The junction temperature of AlGaN/GaN ultraviolet (UV) Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) emitting at 295 nm is measured by using the temperature coefficients of the diode forward voltage and emission peak energy. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored to measure the carrier temperature. A linear relation between junction temperature and current is found. Analysis of the experimental methods reveals that the diode-forward voltage is the most accurate method (± 3 °C). A theoretical model for the dependence of the diode junction voltage (Vj) on junction temperature (T) is developed that takes into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap. A thermal resistance of 87.6 K/W is obtained with the AlGaN/GaN LED sample mounted with thermal paste on a heat sink.

The junction temperature of AlGaN ultraviolet light-emitting diodes emitting at 295nm is measured by using the temperature coefficients of the diode forward voltage and emission peak energy. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored to measure the carrier temperature. A linear relation between junction temperature and current is found. Analysis of the experimental methods reveals that the diode-forward voltage is the most accurate (±3°C). A theoretical model for the dependence of the diode forward voltage (Vf) on junction temperature (Tj) is developed that takes into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap. A thermal resistance of 87.6K∕W is obtained with the device mounted with thermal paste on a heat sink.

Trichromatic white-light sources based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) offer a high luminous efficacy of radiation, a broad range of color temperatures and excellent color-rendering properties with color-rendering indices (CRIs) exceeding 85. An analysis of the luminous efficacy and CRI of a trichromatic light source is performed for a very broad range of wavelength combinations. The peak emission wavelength, spectral width, and the output power of LEDs strongly depend on temperature and the dependencies for red, green, and blue LEDs are established. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of trichromatic white LED sources reveals that the luminous efficacy decreases, the color temperature increases, the CRI decreases and the chromaticity point shifts towards the blue as the junction temperature increases. A high CRI>80 can be maintained, by adjusting the LED power ratio so that the chromaticity point is conserved.

Triple-layer omnidirectional reflectors (ODRs) consisting of a semiconductor, a quarter-wavelength transparent dielectric layer, and a metal have high reflectivities for all angles of incidence. Internal ODRs (ambient material's refractive index n >> 1.0) are demonstrated that incorporate nanoporous SiO2, a low-refractive-index material (n = 1.23), as well as dense SiO2 (n = 1.46). GaP and Ag serve as the semiconductor and the metal layer, respectively. Reflectivity measurements, including angular dependence, are presented. Calculated angle-integrated TE and TM reflectivities for ODRs employing nanoporous SiO2 are R(int)/TE = 99.9% and R(int)/TM = 98.9%, respectively, indicating the high potential of the ODRs for low-loss waveguide structures.

Luminous efficacies and color rendering capabilities of illumination sources based on tri- and tetra-chromatic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated. Tri-chromatic sources with a CRI of 84 and a luminous efficiency of 32 Im/W are demonstrated.

The performance characteristics of white light sources based on a multiple-LED approach, in particular dichromatic and trichromatic sources are analyzed in detail. Figures of merit such as the luminous efficacy, color temperature, and color rendering capabilities are provided for a wide range of primary emission wavelengths. Spectral power density functions of LEDs are assumed to be thermally and inhomogeneously broadened to a full width at half maximum of several kT, in agreement with experimental results. A gaussian line shape is assumed for each of the emission bands. It is shown that multi-LED white light sources have the potential for luminous efficacies greater than 400 lm/W (dichromatic source) and color rendering indices of greater than 90 (trichromatic source). Contour maps for the color rendering indices and luminous efficacies versus three wavelengths are given.

AlGaInP lattice matched to GaAs is suited for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) operating in the red, orange, yellow, and yellow–green wavelength range. Such long-wavelength visible-spectrum devices will play an important role in solid-state lighting applications. This review discusses the major classes of AlGaInP device structures, including absorbing-substrate (AS) LEDs, absorbing substrate LEDs enhanced by distributed-Bragg-reflectors (DBRs), transparent substrate (TS) LEDs, thin-film (TF) LEDs, and LEDs using omnidirectional reflectors (ODRs). Some of these device structures have well-known deficiencies: A significant fraction of light is absorbed in the GaAs substrate in AS-LEDs; DBRs are essentially transparent at oblique angles of incidence leading to substantial optical losses. More recent developments such as TS-LEDs and TF-LEDs avoid these drawbacks. High-reflectivity, electrically conductive ODRs were recently developed that considerably outperform conventional distributed Bragg reflectors. LEDs using such conductive ODRs can replace DBRs in AlGaInP LEDs and are potential candidates for low-cost high-efficiency LEDs suitable for high-power solid-state lighting applications.

A GaInN light-emitting diode (LED) employing an omni-directional reflector (ODR) is presented. The ODR consists of a RuO2 ohmic contact to p-type GaN, a quarter-wave thick SiO2 low-index layer perforated by an array of micro-contacts, and an Ag layer. Calculations predict a 98% angle-averaged reflectivity at λ=450 nm for an GaN/SiO2/Ag ODR, much higher than that for a 20 period Al0.25Ga0.75N/GaN distributed Bragg reflector (49%) and an Ag reflector (94%). It is shown that the RuO2/SiO2/Ag ODR has higher reflectivity than Ni/Au and even Ag reflectors, leading to a higher light extraction efficiency of GaInN LEDs with ODR. The electrical properties of the ODR-LED are comparable to those LEDs with a conventional Ni/Au contact.

Synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy reveals enhanced oxygen incorporation in AlxGa1−xN as the Al mole fraction increases. It is shown that the increased oxygen donor incorporation can result in a conductivity-type change from p-type to n-type in Mg-doped AlxGa1−xN. Consistent with the conductivity-type change, epitaxial Al0.20Ga0.80N films exhibit n-type conductivity despite heavy Mg doping. The p-type conductivity of bulk AlxGa1−xN with a high Al mole fraction can be improved by employing AlxGa1−xN/AlyGa1−yN superlattices (SLs). At 300 K, Mg-doped Al0.17Ga0.83N/Al0.36Ga0.64N SLs (average Al mole fraction of 23%) exhibit strong p-type conductivity with a specific resistance of 4.6 Ω cm, a hole mobility of 18.8 cm2/Vs, and an acceptor activation energy of 195 meV.

An electrically conductive onmidirectional reflector (ODR) is demonstrated as p-type ohmic contact for an AlGaInP light-emitting diode (LED). The ODR comprises the semiconductor, a Ag metal layer and an intermediate SiO2 low-refractive index dielectric layer. The SiO2 layer, located between the LED semiconductor and the silver layer, is perforated by an array of AuZn micro-contacts thus enabling electrical conductivity. It is shown that the ODR-LED has a significantly higher light-extraction efficiency as compared to LEDs employing distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). For devices emitting in the red wavelength range, external quantum efficiencies of 18% and 11% are obtained for ODR- and DBR-LEDs, respectively. The performance of the ODR-LED can be further increased by replacing the SiO2 dielectric with materials having a refractive index much less than 1.45. Performance characteristics of such powerful reflectors will be presented.

In this paper, we described the fabrication of GaN based diodes from two different structures , a bulk GaN p-n junction structure and a p-n junction structure incorporating a p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattice. This superlattice structure is included to facilitate ohmic contact formation. We measure the I-V characteristics of the p-n junctions at room temperature. The lower ideality factor to the improved transport characteristics of p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattices are attributed. The temperature dependence of ideality factor is obtained by measuring the I-V characteristics of the GaN p-n juction with the superlattice structure at three different temperatures. In addition, contact become less rectifying at higher temperatures and hence result in more ohmic behavior. This decreases the ideality factor of the metal-semiconductor juction, which in turn reduces the overall ideality factor. This interpretation is in excellent agreement with the theoretical model and the experimental results.