High-brightness light emitting diodes using dislocation-free indium gallium nitride/gallium nitride multiquantum-well nanorod arrays

We demonstrate the realization of the high-brightness and high-efficiency light emitting diodes (LEDs) using dislocation-free indium gallium nitride (InGaN)/gallium nitride (GaN) multiquantum-well (MOW) nanorod (NR) arrays by metal organic-hydride vapor phase epitaxy (MO-HVPE). MOW NR arrays (NRAs) on sapphire substrate are buried in spin-on glass (SOG) to isolating individual NRs and to bring p-type NRs in contact with p-type electrodes. The MOW NRA LEDs have similar electrical characteristics to conventional broad area (BA) LEDs. However, due to the lack of dislocations and the large surface areas provided by the sidewalls of NRs, both internal and extraction efficiencies are significantly enhanced. At 20 mA do current, the MOW NRA LEDs emit about 4.3 times more light than the conventional BA LEDs, even though overall active volume of the MOW NRA LEDs is much smaller than conventional LEDs. Moreover, the fabrication processes involved in producing MOW NRA LEDs are almost the same for conventional BA LEDs. It is, thus, not surprising that the total yield of these MOW NRA LEDs is essentially the same as that of conventional BA LEDs. The present method of utilizing dislocation-free MOW NRA LEDs is applicable to super-bright white LEDs as well as other semiconductor LEDs for improving total external efficiency and brightness of LEDs.