Efficiency droop in GaInN high-power light-emitting diodes

Abstract

GaN-based light-emitting diodes suffer from high-current loss mechanisms that lead to a significant decrease in internal quantum efficiency at high drive currents. This phenomenon, known as "efficiency droop," is a major problem for solid-state lighting applications, in which light-emitting diodes are driven at high currents to deliver large optical powers. Although substantial effort has been invested to uncover the physical origin and mitigate the effects of efficiency droop, there is still a lack of consensus on the dominant mechanism responsible. In this article, we review several mechanisms that have been proposed as explanations of efficiency droop, including junction heating, carrier delocalization, Auger recombination, and electron leakage from the active region. In addition, device structures intended to mitigate the droop-causing mechanism – (i) thick quantum wellsl, (ii) enhanced hole-injection efficiency structures, and (iii) polarization-matched active region – are discussed.