VERTICAL GEOMETRY LIGHT EMITTING DIODE WITH GROUP III NITRIDE ACTIVE LAYER AND EXTENDED LIFETIME

A light emitting diode emits in the blue portion of the visible spectrum and is characterized by an extended lifetime. The light emitting diode comprises a conductive silicon carbide substrate; an ohmic contact to the silicon carbide substrate; a conductive buffer layer on the substrate and selected from the group consisting of gallium nitride, aluminum nitride, indium nitride, ternary Group III nitrides having the formula AxB1-xN, where A and B are Group III elements and where x is zero, one, or a fraction between zero and one, and alloys of silicon carbide with such ternary Group III nitrides; and a double heterostructure including a p-n junction on the buffer layer in which the active and heterostructure layers are selected from the group consisting of binary Group III nitrides and ternary Group III nitrides.