AlScN as an electron blocking layer in blue light emitting diodes: A first look
Abstract
Electron blocking layers (EBLs) are instrumental in visible light emitters based on nitride semiconductor heterostructures. AlScN (a) can be lattice-matched to GaN, (b) can be grown at GaN compatible conditions, and (c) offers favorable band offsets required for EBLs, but has not been used in light emitting devices to date. In this work, we test if lattice-matched AlScN can be integrated as an EBL layer in a blue light emitting diode (LED) pn junction heterostructure. We find that blue LED operation with peak electroluminescence (EL) at ∼460 nm can indeed be realized with an AlScN EBL. In the LED with the AlScN EBL, we observe low reverse leakage current density, and ∼6 nm lower full-width at half maximum of the EL peak compared to a control sample. Though the turn-on voltage of the AlScN EBL containing blue LED is high, this demonstration proves its feasibility and provides guidance for improved performance in the future.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (9)
Pierce Lonergan
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University 1 , Ithaca, New York 14853,
Madhav Ramesh
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University 1 , Ithaca, New York 14853,
Shivali Agrawal
R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University 2 , Ithaca, New York 14853,
Debaditya Bhattacharya
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University 1 , Ithaca, New York 14853,
Thai-Son Nguyen
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University 2 , Ithaca, New York 14853,
Vladimir Protasenko
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University 1 , Ithaca, New York 14853,
Henryk Turski
Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences 4 , Sokołowska 29/37, Warsaw 01-142,
Huili Grace Xing
Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University 1 , Nagoya 464-8601,
Debdeep Jena
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University 2 , Ithaca, New York 14853,