Improved light extraction from large-area vertical light-emitting diodes with deep hole-patterns using nanosphere lithography

The authors report on an improved light extraction method from large-area vertical light emitting diodes (VLEDs) with deep hole-patterns fabricated using nanosphere lithography. In order to produce the ordered deep-hole patterns on the n-type GaN surface, a 150 nm thick Ni dot mask formed via a lift-off process of the Ni coated onto a 500 nm diameter polystylene bead array was employed to enable deep etching. Three VLEDs-one as a reference with no patterns, and two with periodic 360 nm diameter hole patterns, one with 1.0 μm and the other with 1.5 μm depths on the n-type GaN surface, were prepared for comparison. The light output power measured for the VLEDs with the hole-patterns increased by 4.13 and 4.86 times, respectively, as compared to the reference VLED. These enhancements are attributed to the multiple scatterings of the light from the sidewall of the hole-patterns and to the increased surface area to which the light can approach. The higher light output power obtained for the VLEDs with the deep hole patterns might be due to a photon reabsorption reduction within the n-GaN layer.