GROUP III NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE

• US 20100288999A1
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Showa Denko KK (Resonac Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Showa Denko KK (Resonac Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Udagawa, Takashi, Kikuchi, Tomo
• Granted Patent: US 8,227,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/13
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/06 within the light emitting region, e.g. quantum confinement structure or tunnel barrier
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/32 containing nitrogen

Abstract

In a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device which comprises a substrate (1) and a light-emitting layer (10) having a multiple quantum well structure comprising a barrier layer (11b, 12b), which is provided on a surface of the substrate and formed of a Group III nitride semiconductor, and a well layer (11a, 12a) formed of an indium-containing Group III nitride semiconductor, the light-emitting layer is constituted by stacking a plurality of multilayer portions (11, 12) which comprise one unit multilayer portion (11m) comprising the well layer and the barrier layer or two or more stacked unit multilayer portions (12m). When the multilayer portion (12) comprises two or more unit multilayer portions (12m), the respective well layers or the respective barrier layers have the same thickness and composition, and in the respective multilayer portions (11, 12), the barrier layers (11b, 12b) of the unit multilayer portions are different in thickness with respect to one another, and thereby, the Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device can easily emit multiwavelength light with a simple constitution, using the single light-emitting layer which is independently constituted.

Claims

1. A Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device comprising:

a substrate; and

a light-emitting layer having a multiple quantum well structure comprising a barrier layer, which is provided on a surface of the substrate and formed of a Group III nitride semiconductor, and a well layer formed of an indium-containing Group III nitride semiconductor,

wherein the light-emitting layer having the multiple quantum well structure is constituted by stacking a plurality of multilayer portions which comprise one unit multilayer portion comprising the well layer and the barrier layer or two or more stacked unit multilayer portions,

when the multilayer portion comprises two or more unit multilayer portions, the respective well layers or the respective barrier layers have the same thickness and composition, and

in the respective multilayer portions, the barrier layers of the unit multilayer portions are different in thickness.

2. The Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein in the light-emitting layer, the number of the stacked unit multilayer portions having the barrier layer with the largest thickness is smaller than the summation of the number of the stacked unit multilayer portions having the barrier layer with a thinner thickness.

3. The Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein in the respective multilayer portions, the well layers of the unit multilayer portions are different in at least one of thickness and composition.

4. The Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein in the light-emitting layer, the multilayer portions are arranged from the surface side of the substrate toward a direction of taking out light emitted by the light-emitting layer in the order that the multilayer portion emits lights of shorter wavelength.

5. The Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 4, wherein in the light-emitting layer, the multilayer portions are arranged in the sequence that the thicknesses of the well layers of the multilayer portions become thinner from the surface side of the substrate toward the direction of taking out light emitted layer.