ESD engineering of nitride-based LEDs

GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) with p-cap layers grown at various temperatures were fabricated. It was found that the LED with 900/spl deg/C-grown p-cap layer could only endure negative 1100 V electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulses while the LED with 1040/spl deg/C-grown p-cap layer could endure ESD pulses as high as negative 3500 V. It was also found that the ESD performances of the LEDs with 900 and 1040/spl deg/C-grown p-cap layers were limited by the V-shape defects and the bonding pad design, respectively.