Two kinds of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated to understand the nonradiative carrier recombination processes. Various temperature-dependent measurements such as external quantum efficiency, current-voltage, and electroluminescence spectra are utilized from 50 to 300 K. Based on these experimental results, we analyze the dominant nonradiative recombination mechanism for each LED device. We also analyze the effect of the dominant nonradiative recombination mechanism on the efficiency droop. On the basis of correlation between the efficiency droop and nonradiative recombination mechanisms, we discuss an approach to reducing the efficiency droop for each LED device.

We investigate the nonradiative recombination mechanisms of two conventional InGaN/GaN-based blue light-emitting diodes with different threading dislocation densities (TDDs). The current–voltage, the ideality factor, and the slope of the light-versus-current curve on log scales are analyzed to distinguish the dominant nonradiative recombination mechanisms at room temperature. Through the analysis, we infer the dominant nonradiative recombination mechanisms to be the Shockley–Read–Hall process for the sample with a low TDD (∼1 × 108 cm−2) and the defect-assisted tunneling for the sample with a high TDD (∼1 × 109 cm−2). For more detailed analysis of the nonradiative recombination mechanisms and their impacts on the device performance, we execute the temperature-dependent photovoltage and temperature-dependent electroluminescence efficiency experiments. The sample with a low TDD is found to be more prone to the carrier spill-over at cryogenic temperatures due to the deactivation of point defects, while the sample with a high TDD is more robust to the operation at cryogenic temperatures owing to the relative insensitiveness of the defect-assisted tunneling to temperature.

Two kinds of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) having different electron concentrations in the n-GaN injection layer are investigated in order to understand the effects of unbalanced carrier injection on LED performance characteristics. Electrical and optical characteristics such as capacitance–voltage, current–voltage, external quantum efficiency, and electroluminescence spectrum are compared and analyzed. It is shown that the unbalanced carrier distribution in multiple quantum wells affects the forward operating voltage since a large disparity of injection rate between electrons and holes can induce a small effective active volume, thus leading to the severe overflow of electrons to the p-(Al)GaN layer in the LED devices.

We investigate the influence of carrier overflow on the forward-voltage characteristics of the InGaN-based blue light-emitting-diode (LED) by comparing the temperature-dependent characteristics of the electroluminescence (EL) efficiency, the EL spectra, and the current-voltage relation over a wide range of temperature (50–300 K). Based on these experimental results, we demonstrate that the simple ohmic potential drop in the Shockley diode equation is not sufficient to explain the experimental data when the severe carrier overflow to the p-(Al)GaN layer induces the efficiency droop in the LED device. The anomalous relation between current and voltage at cryogenic temperatures is explained by the space-charge-limited current formed by the overflown electrons, rather than by the increase of a constant series resistance in the p-(Al)GaN layer.

Local dot-like emissions in InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting diodes under both forward and reverse biases are investigated by carefully examining their locations and electroluminescence spectra. The effects of dot-like emissions on electrical and optical performances are also discussed. From the properties of the leakage-component dependence on electric field and temperature, the dominant reverse leakage mechanism is investigated as a function of bias from 100 to 400 K. It is concluded that the underlying mechanism of local dot-like emissions are related to threading dislocations under both reverse and forward biases. Index Terms-Dot emission, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), threading dislocations (TDs), variable-range hopping (VRH).