Effect of Interface State Density of the AlGaN Electron Blocking Layer/GaN Barrier Layer in InGaN Blue Light-Emitting Diodes

Herein, two kinds of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were compared in order to understand the effect of the strain originating from two different sapphire substrates. One of the LED types was grown on a patterned sapphire substrate (PSS), and the other was grown on a conventional sapphire substrate (CSS). The internal strains biased on InGaN quantum wells were compared by studying the time-resolved photoluminescence and the electroreflectance. Through analysis of the dynamic capacitance dispersion measurements, the relation between the trap states and trap density of the AlGaN electron blocking layer/GaN barrier interface above the InGaN quantum wells can be understood in great detail. The trapped charges of the CSSs have faster response times than those of the PSSs; this is attributed to the stronger piezo-field, which induces the AlGaN EBL/GaN barrier interface trap states to be effectively located at shallower levels from the conduction band.