Temperature-dependent electroluminescence study on 265-nm AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes grown on AlN substrates

Temperature-dependent electroluminescence measurements are performed for 265-nm AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on AlN substrates. The external quantum efficiency (EQE) increases as the temperature decreases from 293 K to 6 K. Using two assumptions, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and current injection efficiency (CIE) are unity at the peak EQE at 6 K and the light extraction efficiency is independent of current and temperature, the current and temperature dependences of the product (IQE x CIE) are derived. The temperature dependence of the EQE cannot be simply explained by the Auger recombination processes. This observation enables the CIE and IQE to be separately extracted by rate equation analysis. The room-temperature EQE of the AlGaN-based DUV LEDs is limited by the CIE and not the IQE. We propose that the relatively low CIE may originate from the nonradiative recombination process outside quantum-well layers.