Thermophysical Characterization of Efficiency Droop in GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diodes

Quantitative nanoscale temperature mapping across the multi-quantum well of a light-emitting diode in operation using vacuum null-point scanning thermal microscopy to evaluate local energy conversion efficiency

Electrical energy that is not converted into light in light emitting diodes (LEDs) is locally dissipated as heat in the active layers. Therefore, by measuring the temperature distribution with nanoscale resolution across the multi-quantum well (MQW) of an LED in operation, the effect of nanostructures inside the LED on the local energy conversion efficiency can be observed. In this study, we first demonstrated that vacuum null-point scanning thermal microscopy (VNP SThM) could be used to quantitatively map the two-dimensional temperature distribution across the MQW of an LED in operation with a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. Subsequently, by increasing the injection current in four steps, we quantitatively mapped the temperature distribution across the MQW at each step and observed the shift in the temperature peak across the active layers due to the increase in injection current. The measurements of the temperature distribution around the MQW indicate that as the injection current increased, the overall temperature around the MQW increased significantly, and the temperature peak position shifted. These results show that the main cause of the dissipation of electrical energy into thermal energy inside an LED changes as the injection current increases, and the nanostructures inside an LED affect the dissipation of electrical energy into thermal energy. The high thermal sensitivity, nanoscale resolution, and convenience of VNP SThM may enable the direct observation of the effect of the nanostructures inside various types of nanophotonic devices on local energy conversion even under intense localized radiation.

Nanometrology

Apart from being the subject of this Special Issue, what is nanometrology [...].

Working Mechanisms of Nanoscale Light-Emitting Diodes Operating in Non-Electrical Contact and Non-Carrier Injection Mode: Modeling and Simulation

Non-electrical contact and non-carrier injection (NEC&NCI) mode is an emerging driving mode for nanoscale light-emitting diodes (LEDs), aiming for applications in nano-pixel light-emitting displays (NLEDs). However, the working mechanism of nano-LED operating in NEC&NCI mode is not clear yet. In particular, the questions comes down to how the inherent holes and electrons in the LED can support sufficient radiation recombination, which lacks a direct physical picture. In this work, a finite element simulation was used to study the working process of the nano-LED operating in the NEC&NCI mode to explore the working mechanisms. The energy band variation, carrier concentration redistribution, emission rate, emission spectrum, and current-voltage characteristics are studied. Moreover, the effect of the thickness of insulating layer that plays a key role on device performance is demonstrated. We believe this work can provide simulation guidance for a follow-up study of NEC&NCI-LED.