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Investigation into the temperature dependence of electron leakage in GaN-based blue laser diode structures by numerical simulation

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Abstract

The electron leakage characteristics of GaN-based high-power blue laser diodes (LDs) can be strongly influenced by temperature. To address this aspect, we investigated the temperature dependence of the electron leakage current in an AlGaN electron-blocking layer (EBL) of an InGaN/GaN blue LD structure using numerical simulations. For most cases of the Al compositions and doping concentrations of the AlGaN EBL considered in this study, the electron leakage current decreases significantly with increasing temperature despite the increase in the thermal energy of electrons with respect to the temperature. As a result, the operation current of InGaN blue LDs does not decrease by electron leakage current as the temperature increases, and the LD performance could be improved with increasing temperature in some cases owing to the reduced electron leakage. This counter-intuitive temperature dependence results from the increased potential barrier for electrons with increasing temperature owing to the increased Mg acceptor activation in the EBL with temperature. Furthermore, the obtained simulation results are analyzed using a thermionic emission model, which successfully explains the temperature dependence of the electron leakage characteristics of InGaN blue LDs.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by Inha University Research Grant.

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  1. Department of Physics, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, 22212, Incheon, Korea

    Bohae Lee & Han-Youl Ryu

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  1. Bohae Lee
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Data collection and investigation were performed by Bohae Lee. Conceptualization and formal analyses were performed by Han-Youl Ryu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Bohae Lee and the final manuscript was written by Han-Youl Ryu. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Han-Youl Ryu.

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Lee, B., Ryu, HY. Investigation into the temperature dependence of electron leakage in GaN-based blue laser diode structures by numerical simulation. Opt Quant Electron 55, 154 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-022-04440-x

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