High performance of InGaN LEDs on (111) silicon substrates grown by MOCVD

We report on the high-performance of InGaN multiple-quantum well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on Si (111) substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. A high-temperature thin AlN layer and AlN-GaN multilayers have been used for the growth of high-quality GaN-based LED structure on Si substrate. It is found that the operating voltage of the LED at 20 mA is reduced to as low as 3.8-4.1 V due to the formation of tunnel junction between the n-AlGaN layer and the n-Si substrate when the high-temperature AlN layer is reduced to 3 nm. Because Si has a better thermal conductivity than sapphire, the optical output power of the LED on Si saturates at a higher injected current density. When the injected current density is higher than 120 A/cm², the output power of the LED on Si is higher than that of LED on sapphire. The LED also exhibited the good reliability and the uniform emission from a large size wafer. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observation indicated that the active layer of these LEDs consists of the dislocation-free pyramid-shaped (quantum-dot-like) structure.