Comprehensive study of internal quantum efficiency of high-

brightness GaN-based light-emitting diodes by temperature-dependent

electroluminescence method
Yaqi Wang*, Mengshu Pan, Ting Li*
Lightera Corp., 1145 Sonora Ct, Sunnyvale, CA, USA 94086
*Corresponding author: ting.li@lighterausa.com.
Lightera is a wholly-owned U.S. affiliate of Sanan Optoelectronics, Ltd., Xiamen, China.

ABSTRACT

We report on the development of a temperature-dependent electroluminescence experimental setup for characterizing the
internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of high-brightness GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A systematic IQE study
of commercial LED chips from major LED manufacturers (including Cree, Nichia, Osram, and Sanan) is presented. The
chips show distinctive temperature- and current-dependence in the IQE behavior. Analysis to correlate the onset of droop
with the onset of high injection is also presented.

Keywords: GaN, Light emitting diode, internal quantum efficiency

1. INTRODUCTION
There have been dramatic improvements over the past decade in the efficiency of high-brightness GaN-based light
emitting diodes (LEDs). The improvements are realized through better epitaxial designs as well as chip architectures
with better light extraction features. It is important to benchmark the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) performance of
the state-of-the-art commercial LEDs in order to shed light on future epitaxy and chip development directions. In
addition, the IQE droop problems for high-brightness LEDs are well known in the industry and yet to be solved.
Therefore we set out to develop a temperature-dependent electroluminescence measurement setup for characterizing the
IQE.

IQE is defined as

number of photons emitted from active region per second

η IQE = [1]
number of electrons injected into LED per second

There are two widely adopted methods in measuring IQE of LED: temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) and
temperature-dependent electroluminescence (EL). At epi level, temperature dependent PL is the only way to measure
IQE. It is known that IQE is highly dependent on injection level, but it is difficult to accurately determine the
corresponding current injection level in temperature dependent PL method. At chip level, IQE measurement by
temperature dependent EL is preferred. For temperature dependent EL methods, parameters, such as epi variation across
the chip, current spreading, injection efficiency, are taken into account, and the measurement is based on several
assumptions:

1. Since most EL IQE systems do not measure total radiant flux, the radiation pattern and collected solid
angle must remain constant across all current and temperature levels.
2. Since most EL IQE systems use photodetectors of which the spectral responsivity across the wavelength
measurement range is usually not constant, the error caused by shift in spectra peak and change in spectra
shape across all current and temperature levels must be negligible.
3. Family of efficiency curves’ maximum at a certain low injection, low temperature level is considered as
100% IQE.

Light-Emitting Diodes: Materials, Devices, and Applications for Solid State Lighting XVIII, edited by
Klaus P. Streubel, Heonsu Jeon, Li-Wei Tu, Martin Strassburg, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9003, 90030D
© 2014 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/14/$18 · doi: 10.1117/12.2040710

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 The three asssumptions abo ove can be valiidated by eitheer experiment or o theory. Thee IQE at any cuurrent and tem
mperature
level can be calculated
c as th
he ratio of the efficiency to thhe family of effficiency curves’ maximum.

2. EX
XPERIMEN
NT SETUP AND
A ASSUM
MPTION VALIDATIO
V ON
The Lighteraa temperature-d
dependent EL IQE measurem ment system is shown in Figu ure 1. The LEDD module under test is
t cryostat cold head. The crryostat operatees from 10K too 350K, with 255K increment. A Sourcemeteer is used
mounted on the
to sweep currrent from 100n
nA to a chip-ssize-dependent high current level and to meeasure the volttage. Photocurrrents are
measured byy two blue-enhaanced photodettectors (front and
a side), a swwitch system, annd a picoammeeter. The specttra of the
LED are meaasured by a commpact spectrommeter. A high resolution
r cam
mera can be addded on for low temperature chhip near-
field imagingg.
Cryosta

Il

LED

Blue
Optical Enhanced
Photodetectc

PC for data acquisiRion

Spectrometer

Switch System

Figure 1. Schematic of Liightera’s temperrature-dependentt IQE measurem

ment setup

The compariison of droop curves betweeen the front annd side detectors are used to verify Assum mption 1 (i.e., constant
radiation patttern from 10K to 350K). Figure 2 shows tw wo IQE droop curves of the from
f a 9mil x 30mil
3 lateral LED
L chip
measured byy front and sid de photodetecttors. The shape of the droopp curves matcches very well with each othher. The
calculated IQ
QE values at 300K and 20mA A, from front and side meassurements are 76.0% and 766.1%, respectivvely. We
repeated thee measurementts on LEDs withw different epi and chip structures, annd a measurem ment variationn of 2%
maximum waas found.

Figure 2. IQE droop curv ves from 10K to 350K measured by front (left) and a side (right) photodetectors
p onn a 9mil × 30mill
lateral chhip. X axis: Currrent level in log scale. Y axis: Arbitrary
A unit, rattio of photocurreent to drive curreent.

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 The validity of Assumption 2 (i.e., error from spectra peak
p shift and shape change is insignificant) is also confiirmed by
comparing sppectra taken fro
om 10K to 3500K and the phootodetector spectral quantum efficiency curvve (Figure 3). Dashed
lines represent the range of spectra, and dotted lines reepresent the raange of peak shhift in the righht plot. We estiimate an
error of ~1%
% due to spectraa peak shift andd shape changee.

Figure 3. Photodetector spectral

s quantum
m efficiency curvve (left) and specctra of LED from
m 10K to 350K (right)

Assumption 3 is valid wh hen SRH and Auger

A recombiination, whichh ‘freezes out’ at low temperrature, is the dominant
d
non-radiativee recombinatioon mechanism at low injectioon level. Assumption 3 is not valid, howeever, if leakagee current
through shunnt current pathw
way is the dom
minant loss mecchanism.

3. RESULT
TS AND AN
NALYSIS
The LED samples
s for thhis study werre selected frrom commercially availablee chip produccts from major LED
manufacturerrs. LED 1 is a Cree EZ900 chip,
c LED 2 a Sanan
S S-45BBBMUP lateral chip,
c LED 3 a Nichia
N 50mil flip
f chip,
and LED 4 ann Osram ODB40UX3 chip. LEDL 5, a Philipps Luxeon Rebbel flip chip, is used for near-field imaging study.
s

Figure 4-7 show

s IQE drooop curves and spectra
s of the four
f LEDs. LEED 1 is an exam mple with an “ideal” droop cuurve. As
temperature approaches 0K K, the IQE drooop curve flatteens out at low injection
i level, which indicattes thermally activated
a
non-radiativee recombinatio on is suppresseed at low tem mperature, and very little shuunt leakage cuurrent is presennt above
100nA. In LE ED 2, 3, 4 we find EL intenssity drops at loow temperaturee and low injection level, whhich may be caaused by
shunt leakagee [2] and/or deensity-activatedd defect recombbination (DADDR) mechanism m [3].

In LED 1 andd 2, the EL inttensity starts too collapse at abbout 1mA, andd makes a U-tuurn above 100m mA from 10K to t 175K,
which is higghlighted in daashed ellipses.. The collapsee of EL intenssity at low tem mperature has been reportedd and is
hypothesizedd to stem from blocking of hoole and hole cooncentration drrop in EBL at low temperatuure [4, 5]. U-tuurn in EL
intensity has also been rep ported before. However,
H the minimum temp mperature studieed was only 800K, and the maximum
m
current densiity level was only
o 100mA over
o a 350µm × 350µm device area [6]. As A a result, thee jump in drooop curve
appeared lesss abrupt. We atttribute the U-tturn in EL inteensity at low tem
mperature and high injectionn level to hotterr carriers
and lower hoole barrier at a higher
h forwardd bias.

m EL peak is observed. Ass temperature increases

In LED 1, 2, 3 and 4, temperature dependdent “S-shapedd” shift in the main
from 10K to 350K, the main EL peak first red-shifts, thhen blue-shifts, and red-shiftss again, whichh is generally attributed
a
to carrier loccalization [7, 8]. A secondaryy peak 10nm too the long wavvelength side of
o the main EL L peak is also observed
o
(highlighted in dotted ellipse) when tempperature is beloow 200K, whicch is hypothesiized to come from
f phonon siide-band
emission [9]..

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 Figure 4. IQE droop curv
ve (left) and specctra (right) of LE
ED 1 from 10K to
t 350K

Figure 5. IQE droop curv

ve (left) and specctra (right) of LE
ED 2 from 10K to
t 350K

Figure 6. IQE droop curv

ve (left) and specctra (right) of LE
ED 3 from 10K to
t 350K

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 Figure 7. IQE droop curv
ve (left) and specctra (right) of LE
ED 4 from 10K to
t 350K

In LED 2, 3 and 4, non-rad diative recombbination still exxists at low injeection, low temmperature levels. Near field emission
e
pattern of diifferent currentt levels can heelp to understaand how LED D lights up at lowl temperatuure. As can bee seen in
Figure 8, thee emission patttern is isolatedd islands beloww 100nA, and begins
b to mergge into ridges and
a trenches ass current
level increasses to 1µA, and finally form ms “fish scale” pattern as currrent level is abbove 1µA. It is i postulated thhat non-
radiative cennters that are not
n fully frozeen out at low temperature, and shunt leakkage pathway are the causees of the
decrease in efficiency
e at lo
ow injection and
a low temperrature level. However,
H as injjection currentt further increaases, the
non-radiativee recombinatio on saturates wiith limited dennsity of states, and shunt leakkage increases by at most 300% from
100nA to 1000µA because the increase in i voltage is less
l than 1V. As a result, leakage at low w temperature and low
injection leveel can be estim
mated and excluuded from the IQEI calculationn for better acccuracy.

iMilliiii,Miktilliiii
crY,+.*'s1,,.?-, ... . .

:°iWfrst wa.:y 'rìc'

Figure 8. Near field emission pattern of LED

L 5 at 10K: 100nA, 500nA, 1µA, 5µA (Top, from left to righht); 10µA, 50µA,
100µA, 500µA
5 (Bottom, from left to righht)

The droop beehavior of the four LEDs is summarized

s annd compared att selected tempperatures. Figu
ure 9 shows thhe plot of
IQE vs. currrent density at room temperaature (300K) annd elevated teemperature (350K). Table 1 shows the IQE E values
and Hot Coldd Factors (350KK vs. 300K).

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 Figure 9. IQE droop com
mparison of the 4 LEDs at 300K (left)
( and 350K (right)
(

Sample IQE @ IQE @ Hot Coold IQEE@ IQEE@ Hot Cold

C
LED Description 300K 350K Factoor 3000K 3500K Facctor
m2
35A/cm m2
35A/cm @ 35A//cm2 50A//cm2 50A//cm2 A/cm2
@ 50A
1 Cree EZ900 69.5%
% 61.4% 88.3%
% 65.3% 57.33% 87.77%
2 Sannan S-45BBMU UP 78.6%
% 73.9% 94.0%
% 73.8% 68.66% 93.00%
3 N
Nichia 50mil FC
C 75.6%
% 70.6% 88.3%
% 71.2% 66.22% 93.00%
4 Osrram ODB40UX X3 68.9%
% 67.7% 98.3%
% 64.1% 62.99% 98.1%
Table 1. IQE
I and Hot Co m2 and 50A/cm2
old Factor compaarison of the 4 LEDs at 300K and 350K, 35A/cm

A recent repoort demonstratted a correlatioon between the onset of high injection and the
t onset of thee IQE droop too support
an electron leeakage model for
f the droop mechanism
m [100]. Following thhe nomenclatuure in [10], the onset of high injection
i
is defined as the transition point
p of the LE
ED I-V curve from
f the exponnential to the linnear regime. Itt is also the peaak of the
of the d(ln(I)))/dV plot, whhich can be derrived from the LED I-V curvves at a certainn temperature. The onset of droop is
defined as thhe point when LED efficienccy reaches maxximum at a cerrtain temperatuure. As can be seen from Figgure 10,
the onsets off high injection
n of LED 2 can be found fromm d(ln(I))/dV pllot family, andd the onsets of droop
d of LED 2 can be
found in IQEE curve family in Figure 5.

Figure 100. IV curve (left)) and d(ln(I))/dV

V plot (right) of LED
L 2

Figure 11 shhows the correllation between the onsets of droop

d and the onsets
o of high injection
i for LED 1-4. As cann be
seen from thee plot, the voltage at the onseet of droop is always higher thhan that of the onset of high injection. How
wever,
the excess vooltage does nott hold constant as shown in Fig. 4 in [10]. There
T is no consistent temperaature dependennce
among the saamples. Additio onal work is cllearly needed to analyze the data
d and reconccile with the thheory.

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 Figure 111. Onset of droop
p and onset of hiigh injection com
mparison of LED
D 1, 2 (Top, from
m left to right) 3,, 4 (Bottom, from
m
left to rigght)

4. SUMMARY
S Y
We developeed a temperatu ure-dependent electrolumines
e cence experim
mental setup forr characterizingg the internal quantum
q
efficiency (IQ
QE) of high-brightness GaN N-based light-emmitting diodess (LEDs). We report on a syystematic IQE study of
commercial LED
L chips fro
om major LED D manufacturerrs with this meethodology. IQQE values of 69—79%
6 are found
f on
these chips at 300K, 35A A/cm2. The chhips also show w distinctive temperature-
t a
and current-deependence in the IQE
behavior. Annalysis to correlate the onset of t onset of higgh injection is also presented.
o droop with the

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