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Origins and suppressions of parasitic emissions in ultraviolet light-emitting diode structures

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Abstract

The AlGaN-based ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) structures with AlN as buffer were grown on sapphire substrate by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). A series of cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra were measured from the cross section of the UV-LED structure using point-by-point sampling to investigate the origins of the broad parasitic emissions between 300 and 400 nm, and they were found to come from the n-type AlGaN and AlN layers rather than p-type AlGaN. The parasitic emissions were effectively suppressed by adding an n-type AlN as the hole-blocking layer. Electroluminescence (EL) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements have revealed that the interface abruptness and crystalline quality of the UV-LED structure are essential for the achievement of the EL emissions from the multiple quantum wells (MQWs).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fujian Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials and Applications, Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, People’s Republic of China

    Weihuang Yang, Shuping Li, Hangyang Chen, Dayi Liu & Junyong Kang

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  1. Weihuang Yang
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  2. Shuping Li
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  3. Hangyang Chen
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  4. Dayi Liu
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  5. Junyong Kang
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Correspondence to Junyong Kang.

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Yang, W., Li, S., Chen, H. et al. Origins and suppressions of parasitic emissions in ultraviolet light-emitting diode structures. Journal of Materials Research 25, 1037–1040 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2010.0135

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2010.0135

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