Junction Temperature in Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes

The junction temperature and thermal resistance of AlGaN and GaInN ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 295 and 375 nm, respectively, are measured using the temperature coefficient of diode-forward voltage. An analysis of the experimental method reveals that the diode-forward voltage has a high accuracy of ±3°C. A comprehensive theoretical model for the dependence of diode-forward voltage ( V f ) on junction temperature ( T j ) is developed taking into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap and the temperature coefficient of diode resistance. The difference between the junction voltage temperature coefficient (d V j /d T ) and the forward voltage temperature coefficient (d V f /d T ) is shown to be caused by diode series resistance. The data indicate that the n-type neutral regions are the dominant resistive element in deep-UV devices. A linear relationship between junction temperature and current is found. Junction temperature is also measured by the emission-peak-shift method. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored in the measurement of carrier temperature.