Lead Performer: The Ohio State University – Columbus, OH
Partner: Case Western Reserve University – Cleveland, OH
DOE Total Funding: $590,827
Project Term: April 17, 2019 – August 31, 2022
Funding Type: SSL R&D Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) (DE-FOA-0001823)

Project Objective

This project aims to achieve high-efficiency LEDs with green, amber, and longer wavelengths, using two compatible material systems based on III-nitride and II-IV-nitride semiconductor heterostructures. The approach uses low-indium-content InGaN and ZnGeN2 or ZnSnN2 heterostructure quantum wells (QWs) as the active regions for high-efficiency green and amber LEDs, which will advance high-efficiency color-mixed white LED technology. This approach takes advantage of the increased flexibility, afforded by the incorporation of the II-IV-nitrides into the Iii-nitride layers, to tune the QW active region to lower the emission wavelengths and to increase the electron-hole wave function overlap. This strategy paves a new way to extend the InGaN QW LED emission wavelength without using high-indium-content InGaN, and with greatly improved quantum efficiency. An industrially preferable metalorganic chemical vapor deposition method will be used to develop the growth of ZnGeN2 and ZnSnN2 that are compatible with the InGaN growth. The key objective of this program is to develop green and amber LEDs with internal quantum efficiencies in excess of 60% and 50%, respectively, using a strategy compatible with current manufacturing processes. The unique dual chamber MOCVD instrument at Ohio State University (OSU) is critical to this proposal. The two partner institutions – OSU and Case Western Reserve University – have complementary expertise, and the project will create an opportunity for them to perform this work from basic materials development to device-level demonstration, and to ultimately transfer the technology to industrial partners for market adoption.

Project Impact

This project proposes to form, for the first time, heterostructures from two compatible material systems: III-nitrides and II-IV-nitrides. Using the closely lattice-matched materials and their large band offsets, the novel concept provides new opportunities to extend the emission wavelength for InGaN quantum wells using low indium content. If successful, this project will lead to a new set of high-efficiency InGaN quantum-well LEDs emitting in green, amber, and red wavelength that exceed the current state of the art.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Brian Walker, brian.walker@ee.doe.gov
Lead Performer: Hongping Zhao, The Ohio State University