Non-destructive analysis on nano-textured surface of the vertical LED for light enhancement

•Surface analysis of nano-textured structure in the vertical LED is characterized using non-destructive techniques (NDT).•NDT provide non-contact, local, robust, sophisticated and non-destructive material characterization methodology adequate for measuring surface roughness and stress-states.•Surface topography of nano-textured surface of the LED has roughness of ∼300 nm and in a compression stress-state of 0.667 GPa with emission peak wavelength of 442 nm.•Texture engineering does not affect the active region of the LED.•Prospective optimizations are suggested in surface engineering for light enhancement in LEDs. In this work, the nano-textured surface of a GaN-based vertical light emitting diode (VLED) is characterized using a unified framework of non-destructive techniques (NDT) incorporating scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to optimize the light output efficiency. The surface roughness of ∼300 nm is revealed by AFM. Compressive stress-state of 0.667 GPa in the GaN surface is indicated by the E2(high) and A1(LO) phonon peak values at 569 cm−1 and 736 cm−1, respectively, in Raman spectrum and the wavelength at 442 nm rather 450 nm in PL spectrum. Without damaging the LED, surface analysis by NDT helps to advance the understanding of the optimized angular light redistribution subject to the high-roughness surface and the negative impacts of the stress induced at the top GaN layer, which leads to the optical efficiency degradation of the VLED. Furthermore, the impact of texturing on underneath n-GaN and MQWs layers is investigated via SEM-based transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC-STEM) and revealed a smooth surface morphology and good crystalline quality, indicating that the etch-induced damage by texture engineering does not impair the active region of the VLED. Accordingly, prospective optimizations are suggested in the context of surface engineering for light enhancement in VLEDs.