Effect of an in layer on the thermal stability of Ag reflector for vertical GaN-based light-emitting diodes

Woong Sun Yum, Chang Hyeong Lee, Sungho Jin, Tae Yeon Seong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We investigated the effect of an indium (In) middle layer on the thermal and electrical properties of Ag contacts for high-power GaN-based vertical light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It is shown that with increasing temperature, agglomeration is initiated by the formation of hillocks, followed by the generation of holes, eventually leading to agglomeration. The presence of the In layer effectively delays agglomeration. As a result, the In-combined Ag reflectors exhibit better specific contact resistance (6.0 × 10 -5 Ω cm2) and reflectance (∼75% at 440 nm) when annealed at 500 °C, as compared to Ag only contacts. Blue (440 nm) LEDs fabricated with the 500 °C-annealed In-combined Ag contacts exhibit a forward voltage of 2.99 V (at an injection current of 20 mA) lower than that of LEDs with the 500 °C-annealed Ag only contacts. The output power (at 20 mA) of the LEDs with the 500 °C-annealed In-combined Ag contacts is 29% higher than that of LEDs with the 500 °C-annealed Ag only contacts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)77-85
Number of pages9
JournalSuperlattices and Microstructures
Volume56
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Ag reflector
  • GaN
  • In middle layer
  • LED
  • Light output power

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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