Ultraviolet light emitting devices having compressively strained light emitting layer for enhanced light extraction

• US 10,008,629 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2016
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Northrup, John E., Chua, Christopher L., Kneissl, Michael A., Wunderer, Thomas, Johnson, Noble M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Michael
• Application Number:
  US15/012,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20160233375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0025 comprising only AIIIBV compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0075 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/04 with a quantum effect structure or superlattice, e.g. tunnel junction
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/32 containing nitrogen

Abstract

Light emitting devices having an enhanced degree of polarization, P_D, and methods for fabricating such devices are described. A light emitting device may include a light emitting region that is configured to emit light having a central wavelength, λ, and a degree of polarization, P_D, where P_D>0.006λ−b for 200 nm≤λ≤400 nm, wherein b≤1.5.

Claims

1. A nitride-semiconductor light emitting device comprising:

a substrate;

a first heterostructure;

a second heterostructure;

a light emitting region comprising;

barrier layers comprising AlGaN; and

one or more quantum wells comprising AlGaN, each quantum well respectively disposed between two of the barrier layers, the light emitting region disposed between the first and second heterostructures and configured to emit light having a central wavelength, λ

, and a degree of polarization, P_D, where P_D>

0.006λ

−

b for 200 nm≤

λ

≤

400 nm, wherein b≤

1.5, wherein the first heterostructure is disposed between the light emitting region and the substrate and includes a transition layer comprising a two section AlN/GaN superlattice, the two section AlN/GaN superlattice having a first surface near the substrate and a second surface near the light emitting region, the two section superlattice configured to transition Al content of the device from a higher Al content near the first surface to a lower Al content near the second surface.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein b is about 1.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the light emitting region comprises at least one of GaN, InAlN, AlGaN, InGaN and InAlGaN.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a substrate, the substrate comprising at least one of sapphire, GaN, AlN, AlGaN, InAlGaN, Si, and SiC.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a bulk crystalline AlN substrate.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein:

the AlN substrate has a lattice constant, a_bulk-AlN;

the light emitting region comprises at least one Al_xGa_1-xN region; and

the at least one Al_xGa_1-xN region has an in-plane lattice constant a_strained and a_strained−

a_bulk-AlN(λ

(nm)−

230)*0.0012 Å

.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the Al_xGa_1-xN region is disposed between two Al_yGa_1-yN regions, where 0≤

y≤

1, y>

x and y>

0.7+0.02*(245−

λ

(nm)).

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the light emitting region comprises at least one Al_xGa_1-xN layer and wherein the strain ε

_a in the Al_xGa_1-xN layer satisfies the inequality ε

_a<

−

0.0079+0.00022*(λ

(nm)−

240 nm).

9. The device of claim 1, wherein λ

≤

300 nm and P_D≥

0.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a base layer disposed between the substrate and the first heterostructure, wherein the base layer comprises Al_zbaseGa_1-zbaseN, where zbase is between 0 and 1.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein:

a first section of the AlN/GaN superlattice has an average aluminum molar fraction of about 90%; and

a second section of the AlN/GaN superlattice has an average aluminum, molar fraction of about 80%.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein a transition layer surface closest to the light emitting region has a surface roughness less than about 10 nm.

13. A nitride semiconductor light emitting device, comprising:

a bulk crystalline AlN substrate;

a light emitting region comprising AlGaN grown above the bulk crystalline AlN substrate; and

a first heterostructure disposed between the light emitting region and the bulk crystalline AlN substrate, the first heterostructure including a transition layer comprising an AlN/GaN superlattice, wherein variation in reciprocal lattice values of the bulk crystalline AlN substrate and the light emitting region is less than about 1.5% and wherein the light emitting region is configured to emit light having a central wavelength, λ

, and a degree of polarization, P_D, where P_D is greater than 0.006λ

−

1.5 for 200≤

λ

≤

400 nm, the AlN/GaN superlattice having a first surface near the substrate and a second surface near the light emitting region, an Al content of the AlN/GaN superlattice changing from a higher Al content near the first surface to a lower Al content near the second surface.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein:

the AlN substrate has a lattice constant, a_bulk-AlN;

the light emitting region comprises at least one Al_xGa_1-xN region; and

the at least one Al_xGa_1-xN region has an in-plane lattice constant a_strained that satisfies the inequality a_strained−

a_bulk-AlN≤

(λ

(nm)−

230)*0.0012 Å

.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the Al_xGa_1-xN region is disposed between two Al_yGa_1-yN regions, and wherein 0≤

y≤

1, y>

x and y>

0.7+0.02*(245−

λ

(nm)).