Effects of unbalanced carrier injection on the performance characteristics of InGaN light-emitting diodes

Two kinds of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) having different electron concentrations in the n-GaN injection layer are investigated in order to understand the effects of unbalanced carrier injection on LED performance characteristics. Electrical and optical characteristics such as capacitance-voltage, current-voltage, external quantum efficiency, and electroluminescence spectrum are compared and analyzed. It is shown that the unbalanced carrier distribution in multiple quantum wells affects the forward operating voltage since a large disparity of injection rate between electrons and holes can induce a small effective active volume, thus leading to the severe overflow of electrons to the p-(Al)GaN layer in the LED devices. (C) 2016 The Japan Society of Applied Physic