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Microscopic simulation of hot electron transport in III-N light-emitting diodes

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Abstract

This work is a microscopic investigation of electron transport in III-N multi-quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with an electron blocking layer (EBL). By using the Monte Carlo device simulation method, we demonstrate that at strong injection conditions Auger recombination in the QWs creates a significant population of hot electrons in the upper valleys of the conduction band. Many of these electrons cross the EBL and reach the \(p\)-contact located 250 nm away from the MQW region. Our results show a correlation between Auger electron emission at the \(p\)-contact and the reduction in the external quantum efficiency of the EBL-LED structure. This observation is in line with the hypothesis by Iveland et al. (Phys Rev Lett 110:177406, 2013) that electrons excited by Auger recombination in the active region can reach the device surface and be observed by electron emission spectroscopy.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Aalto Energy Efficiency Programme, the Academy of Finland, and the Nokia Foundation for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Device Modelling Group, Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Toufik Sadi

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Pyry Kivisaari, Jani Oksanen & Jukka Tulkki

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  1. Toufik Sadi
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  2. Pyry Kivisaari
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  4. Jukka Tulkki
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Correspondence to Toufik Sadi.

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Sadi, T., Kivisaari, P., Oksanen, J. et al. Microscopic simulation of hot electron transport in III-N light-emitting diodes. Opt Quant Electron 47, 1509–1518 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-015-0152-z

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