Simulation and theoretical study of AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with a stepped electron barrier layer

Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, sterilization of deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs) has attracted increasing attention. Effectively improving the radiative recombination efficiency and mitigating the efficiency degradation, mainly caused by electron leakage and nonradiative recombination, have also emerged as two of the main issues to be addressed. In this study, a DUV LED epitaxial structure with a novel electron-blocking layer (EBL) is proposed. The DUV LED with a luminescence wavelength of ∼297 nm was formed by the stepwise variation of the Al component. Through the simulation and analysis of its performance parameters, we found that, compared to the conventional EBL structure, this new EBL structure not only reduces the electron leakage to the p-region effectively but also increases the hole injection into the active region, resulting in an increase in carrier concentration in the active region, a two-to-three-fold increase in the radiative recombination rate, and a 58% increase in the internal quantum efficiency, thus alleviating the efficiency droop and achieving a more efficient operation at high current densities.