Improving light extraction efficiency of AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by combining thinning p-AlGaN/p-GaN layer with Ni/Au/Al high-reflectivity electrodes

Improving light extraction efficiency (LEE) of AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet (DUV) light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been attempted by thinning the p-AlGaN/p-GaN layer and adopting Ni/Au/Al composite electrodes. It is found that the thin p-AlGaN/p-GaN layer can reduce the light absorption and the Ni/Au/Al electrodes achieve high reflectivity and Ohmic contact to ensure the enhancement of the light extraction and maintain fine electrical properties. By this approach, the maximum external quantum efficiency of the DUV-LEDs with optimized Ni/Au/Al reflective electrodes is increased by 40%, compared to that with conventional Ni/Au electrodes over the whole current range.