Improved output power of gan-based vertical light emitting diodes fabricated with current blocking region formed by o2 plasma treatment

We report on the formation of current blocking regions by O₂ plasma treatment to reduce current crowding at the active region above the p-type electrodes of GaN-based vertical light emitting diodes (LEDs). The forward voltage and reverse current (at -5 V) of the plasma-treated LEDs slightly increase with increasing aging time. The output power (at 350 mA) of the plasma-treated LEDs is enhanced by 26% as compared to that of reference LEDs and is comparable to that of LEDs with SiO₂ current blocking layers. It is shown that the output power (at 700 mA) of the plasmatreated LEDs is degraded by less than 2% of the initial value after 500 h.