Ultraviolet-A LED Based on Quantum-Disks-in-AlGaN-Nanowires—Optimization and Device Reliability

Group-III nitride-based ultraviolet (UV) quantum-disks (Qdisks) nanowires (NWs) light-emitting diodes grown on silicon substrates offer a scalable, environment-friendly, compact, and low-cost solution for numerous applications in solid-state lighting, spectroscopy, and biomedical. However, the internal quantum efficiency, injection efficiency, and extraction efficiency need to be further improved. The focus of this paper encompasses investigations based on structural optimization, device simulation, and device reliability. To optimize a UVA (320-400 nm) device structure, we utilize the self-assembled Qdisks NWs with varying Qdisks thickness to study carrier separation in active-region and implement an improved p-contact-layer to increase the output power. By simulation, we found a 100× improvement in the direct recombination rate for samples with thicker Qdisks thickness of ~5 monolayers (MLs) compared to the sample with ~2 MLs-thick Qdisks. Moreover, the sample with graded top Mg-doped AlGaN layer in conjunction with thin Mg-doped GaN layer shows 10× improvement in the output power compared to the samples with thicker top Mg-doped GaN absorbing contact layer. A fitting with ABC model revealed the increase in nonradiative recombination centers in the active region after a soft stress test. This paper aims to shed light on the research efforts required for furthering the UV NWs LED research for practical applications.