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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 (8pp) doi:10.1088/0268-1242/29/8/084004

Invited Article

Development and future of ultraviolet

light-emitting diodes: UV-LED will replace
the UV lamp
Yoshihiko Muramoto, Masahiro Kimura and Suguru Nouda
NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTORS Co., Ltd 115–7 Itayajima, Akinokami, Seto-cho, Naruto-shi,
Tokushima 771–0360, Japan
E-mail: [email protected]

Received 30 November 2013, revised 12 February 2014

Accepted for publication 2 December 2013
Published 6 June 2014

Abstract
Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) have started replacing UV lamps. The power per
LED of high-power LED products has reached 12 W (14 A), which is 100 times the values
observed ten years ago. In addition, the cost of these high-power LEDs has been decreasing. In
this study, we attempt to understand the technologies and potential of UV-LEDs.

Keywords: ultraviolet light-emitting diodes, ultraviolet lamps, mercury, resin curing, exposure
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction resin curing, medicine, and biotechnology; excitation light

sources for spectroscopy as used for banknote identification,
We started the development of the world’s first ultraviolet DNA chips, and environmental monitoring; sanitary light
light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) in collaboration with the sources for disinfection and sterilization (figure 1).
University of Tokushima in April 2000, and have been UV-LEDs that emit light at a power of a few milliwatts
supplying related products ever since. In recent years, as have already replaced UV lamps for banknote identification
people are becoming more concerned about protecting the in automated teller machines. Prototype light sources for
environment, and in light of INC5, where it was made clear resin curing and exposure machines (which require a large
that production, use, and trade of mercury will be reduced, the cumulative light intensity) have been made, and commercial
role of UV-LEDs is becoming more important. products are being released accordingly. The external quantum
UV-LEDs are LEDs that emit UV rays with a wavelength efficiency of NUV-LED, in particular, has greatly improved
of approximately 400 nm or shorter. They are divided into because of developments in crystal growth, chip processing,
near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (NUV-LEDs), whose and packaging technologies, reaching 30% at a wavelength of
emission wavelength is approximately 300–400 nm, and deep- 365 nm, 50% at 385 nm, and 60% at 405 nm (our product).
ultraviolet LEDs (DUV-LEDs), whose emission wavelength The power per LED of high-power products at a wavelength of
is approximately 200–300 nm. UV-LEDs are promising 365 nm has reached 12 W (14 A) (figure 2), which is 100 times
candidates for various applications: replacing UV lamps; the values from ten years ago, 118 mW (500 mA) [1]. The cost
fluorescence light sources for lighting and displays; high- of these high-power LEDs has decreased as a result of mass
resolution light sources for microscopes and exposure production, making them available for various applications.
machines; light sources for chemical excitation as used for In comparison to UV lamps, UV-LEDs are not only
mercury free, but also have (1) a higher energy efficiency,
Content from this work may be used under the terms of
(2) a longer lifetime, (3) more constant light intensity, and (4)
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further
distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the it is easy to control their temperature and heat (figure 3). For all
title of the work, journal citation and DOI. these reasons, UV-LEDs are expected to be more widely used

0268-1242/14/084004+08$33.00 1 © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

UV CURE
Large Screen
Small Air Cleaners; LED Light
Automobiles;
Refrigerators

Cell Phone’s
Backlight Instrument Panel for
Automobiles Backlight for PDAs &
Games
Bio/Medical
Paper Money Equipment
Identification

Figure 1. UV LED application market.

in the future [2]. Moreover, since the current mainstream white

LEDs, which use blue LEDs and yellow phosphors, are not Figure 3. Features of UV-LED against UV lamp.
very good at color rendering, UV-red, green, and blue (RGB)
white LEDs (which produce white light by exciting phosphors
of the three RGB colors with UV) are highly anticipated as a
next-generation lighting device [3].
In this study, we will discuss the development process and
future of UV-LEDs in the NUV range.

2. Problems to improve the performance of

UV-LEDs

GaN LEDs (including UV-LEDs) are fabricated by depositing

GaN crystal layers onto the C-plane of sapphire (Al2O3)
using the metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD)
method. It is not an overstatement to say that the history of
GaN LED development has been a battle against the sapphire
on which the layers are deposited. That is, it is difficult to grow Figure 4. Structural diagram of a common UV-LED chip.
high-quality crystalline layers because the lattice constants for
sapphire and GaN are different. Moreover, while the melting the other side of the sapphire substrate. This indicates that the
point of sapphire is over 2000 ◦ C, making it suitable for vertical chip (V chip) structure cannot be employed, resulting
epitaxial growth at high temperatures over 1000 ◦ C, sapphire in a smaller light-emitting area.
has a high Vickers hardness of approximately 20 GPa, making Figure 4 shows the typical structure of a face-up UV-LED
it difficult to process the wafer. Sapphire also retains heat, chip. A short wavelength (wide band gap) is required for the
with a thermal conductivity of 40 W mK−1; therefore, it is light-emitting layer. The shortest wavelength achievable using
not effective at dissipating heat. Furthermore, since sapphire the InGaN series of materials corresponds to 3.4 eV (the band
is an insulator, the electrostatic breakdown voltage of the light- gap of GaN). To further shorten the wavelength, materials
emitting layer is low, and the n-electrode cannot be located on from the AlxInyGa1-x-yN series can be used, for example, AlN

Figure 2. High power UV-LED module wavelength 365 nm 12 W(14 A) Wavelength 385 nm 17 W(14 A).

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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

Figure 5. External quantum efficiency of UV-LEDs and DUV-LEDs. Figure 6. Schematic of Si layers and undoped AlInGaN layers.

with a band gap of 6.2 eV. The crystal growth process is as

follows. Since the lattice constants for the sapphire substrate
and GaN are different, a GaN buffer layer is used to form
an n-GaN contact layer. On top of the n-contact layer, an
AlxInyGa1-x-yN light-emitting layer is sandwiched between
AlGaN barrier layers, forming a double heterostructure. Then,
a p-GaN contact layer is formed on top of the heterostructure,
and transparent electrodes are finally formed on top. As shown Figure 7. Surface AFM images (left: n-GaN single layer, right:
in figure 4, the n-electrode must be formed by etching the undoped AlInGaN layer).
light-emitting surface. This step not only reduces the light- In UV-LEDs emitting a wavelength of 365 nm, UV
emitting area, but the wires required for bonding also hinder radiation of  370 nm is absorbed by the GaN buffer layer
light emission. growing on the sapphire substrate as a base (the band gap
Due to the different lattice constants of the sapphire energy of GaN is 3.4 eV), resulting in a rapid decrease
substrate and GaN, the crystals will have a dislocation density in the light-extraction efficiency. This problem can be
of 5–50 × 108 cm−2. It is thought that the high light-emitting solved by using AlGaN as the buffer layer. However, this
efficiency of a blue (InGaN) LED, despite the high dislocation would increase the Al composition and in turn decrease
density, is because of non-uniformities in the In concentration. the crystallinity. Also, deepening of the Mg acceptor level
To shorten the wavelength, the In concentration must be would make it difficult to make the AlGaN layer p-type,
reduced, indicating that any effect from the variations in In and the larger difference in lattice constants would cause
composition will be reduced [4]. cracking in the films.
Figure 5 shows published values of the external quantum
efficiency for UV-LEDs and DUV-LEDs [5–11], which Therefore, the following three points are considered
decrease with wavelength. Three possible causes for this important for increasing the efficiency and power of UV-
decrease in efficiency, all related to crystal growth, are as LEDs: (1) decreasing the dislocation density; (2) increasing
follows. the variation in In composition; (3) decreasing UV absorption
by the GaN buffer layer.
(1) A decrease in light-emitting efficiency due to a high
dislocation density in the active layer. 3. Increasing the efficiency and power of UV-LEDs
The crystals in InGaN LEDs have a high dislocation
density; however, in the case of UV-LEDs, the active layer The problems regarding the development of UV-LEDs were
is AlGaN, which requires a cladding layer with an even discussed in the previous chapter; here we will elaborate on
larger band gap, resulting in an even higher threading how to handle these.
dislocation density. (1) Decreasing the dislocation density.
(2) A decrease in the effect of the variations in In composition To reduce crystal defects, we have found a method
due to a decrease in the In composition in the active layer. for alternately depositing Si and undoped AlInGaN layers
To shorten the emitted wavelength of the LED, the during the formation of the n-contact layer (figure 6).
In composition must be decreased, and accordingly, the Figure 7 shows surface AFM images of such a sample.
effect of any variations in the composition is reduced. The stepped surface can be seen more clearly compared
When there is a high In composition, electrons and to when a Si-doped single n-GaN/AlGaN layer is used as
holes rapidly recombine (before getting captured by a the n-contact layer, and smoother ridges are formed. This
dislocation); however, as the In composition decreases, is probably due to the diffusion effect of Si that helps
the charges interact more with dislocations. secure carriers in the n-contact layer while improving
(3) A decrease in the light-extraction efficiency due to UV the crystallinity. In addition, with In being captured by
absorption by the GaN buffer layer. defects, the crystal defects are reduced even further [12].

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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

Figure 8. Structural diagram of UV-LED with SiN layer inserted.

We also observed that the dislocation density could

be reduced by 30–50% compared to the conventional
structure using a low-temperature SiN buffer layer [13,
14], a high-temperature SiN intermediate layer [15], and
a low-temperature GaNP buffer layer [16]. All of these
methods are highly effective because they can reduce the
dislocation density without complex processing.
There are also epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO)
techniques that promote growth in the lateral directions
using striped sapphire. Khan et al of the University of
South Carolina succeeded in obtaining a thick AlGaN
layer with a dislocation density of 108 cm−2 (which is
close to the proposed ideal value of 107 cm−2) by growing Figure 9. Model of non-uniform In composition created by adding
SiN.
an AlGaN layer on a sapphire substrate and an AlN
buffer layer, patterning the AlGaN layer with stripes using of 375 nm and the numbers in parentheses show at a
lithography and reactive ion etching, and continuing to wavelength of 365 nm. This value can reach up to 4
grow the AlGaN layer on top with ELO [17]. for these processes, and more than 7 at a wavelength of
Using a patterned sapphire substrate (PSS), growth 365 nm.
in the lateral directions can be promoted; thus, the ELO Here we briefly explain each process of development.
can reduce dislocations [18]. First, face-up chips are easy to process and their
(2) Increasing the variation in In composition. production costs are low; therefore, they are still widely
We have examined a method to promote the variation used for mass-produced InGaN LEDs. Note that the
in the In composition, and in collaboration with the progression of surface processing technology has led to
University of Tokushima, we proposed a method of using a outputs up to 2.5 times greater than the most basic chips.
SiN layer or a Ga droplet layer in the active layer. Figure 8 This is a result of the increased refractive index due to
shows the structure of a UV-LED where an SiN layer is processing on the front and back surfaces of the sapphire
inserted into the active layer. By depositing a monolayer of substrate, p-layer surface, and transparent electrode
SiN, crystals at its base become partly exposed, forming surface [21]. For the p-type transparent electrode, indium
nanosized holes. If an AlInGaN layer is deposited over tin oxide, which absorbs less UV light than conventional
it, regions with different compositions will be created Ni/Au, is used.
because Ga, In, and Al atoms adsorb to different degrees. Table 1 shows the results of analyzing three different
While Al atoms are not easily transported on the SiN patterns of PSS substrates at a wavelength of 375 nm.
layer, Ga and In atoms are transported easily. This causes Shape No. 4 showed the best result, increasing the output
formation of a structure with nanoscale compositional with a high and narrow-pitched PSS. However, if the cones
differences, and In-rich regions can be created (figure 9) are high and the pitch is narrow, it is difficult to form an
[19, 20]. epitaxial film; the pattern must allow both a reduction in
(3) Decreasing UV absorption by the GaN buffer layer. the amount of dislocations (from the epitaxial layer) and
Techniques to increase the light-extraction efficiency an increase in the light-extraction efficiency (from the
and those used during the processing of InGaN LEDs are increased refractive index). Figure 11 shows the output
basically the same. of our dome-shaped plastic UV-LED products over time.
Figure 10 lists some of these techniques. The numbers In 2009 we commercialized a dome-shaped plastic LED
show the output ratio of a face-up chip with a wavelength (figure 12) with a world-leading efficiency: an output

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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

Figure 10. LED chip process method.

Figure 11. External quantum efficiency over time of our dome-shaped plastic UV-LED products.

Table 1. Results of PSS shape examination.

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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

Figure 14. High-power UV-LED wavelength: 365 nm output power:

2110 mW(2 A) wavelength:385 nm output power:3210 mW(2 A).

Figure 12. Dome-shaped UV-LED ‘NS375L-ERLM’.

processing technique in which an LED structure is built
on a sapphire substrate, and then the p-side is attached to a
of 28.7 mW (20 mA, external quantum efficiency of thermally conductive metal such as CuW, and finally, the
43.2%) at a wavelength of 375 nm, and an output of sapphire substrate and the UV absorption layer are lifted
36.1 mW (20 mA, external quantum efficiency of 58.2%) off. Two of the lift-off methods are laser lift off [24, 25]
at a wavelength of 400 nm. Next, flip chip is a technology (using an excimer laser) and chemical lift off [26] (using
that produces red III–V LEDs that perform well both an etching process). A chip that has p- and n-electrodes
in heat radiation and light-extraction efficiency [22]; on the top and bottom in this manner is called a V chip
however, for InGaN LEDs, it does not produce devices (figure 13) [27–29]. In April 2013, we examined crystal
that performed as well as expected, because of the light structures suited for V chips, and obtained the following
transmission rate and refractive index of the sapphire results with a surface-mounted device LED (figure 2):
substrate.
output of 2110 mW (2 A, external quantum efficiency
As for the reduction in dislocations using a GaN
of 31.1%) at a wavelength of 365 nm, and an output of
substrate, a bulk substrate is used to avoid the lattice
mismatch with sapphire. However, our results were not 3210 mW (2 A, external quantum efficiency of 49.8%) at
as good as those of other research teams [23] using the a wavelength of 385 nm (figure 14).
InGaN series. It appears that the effect of dislocations was We have succeeded in obtaining an output of
large because the dislocation of the GaN substrate was still 12 W(14 A) at a wavelength of 365 nm and 17 W (14 A)
as large as 5 × 106 cm−2, and the effect of the variation at a wavelength of 385 nm by the 25 pcs V chip mounted
in the In composition was small for the AlInGaN series. module on the 50 mm square copper substrate in February
Finally, we discuss here the removal of sapphire/GaN 2014 (figure 2).
layers. This method is the most effective and a high-level

Figure 13. LED structure diagram (left: face-up LED, right: V chip LED).

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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

Figure 15. Prediction of output power and cost.

Figure 16. Comparison of color rendering properties of warm white

LEDs.

4. Conclusions

In this study, we briefly explained the flow of the technological

development to increase the power and efficiency of NUV-
LEDs. The intensity of 1–10 W cm−2, which is required for
applications involving large cumulative light intensity such
as light resin curing, has already been achieved, and the
production costs were also dramatically decreased because of
an increase in the diameter of MOCVD reactors. The wafer size
is also increasing from the conventional 2 inches to 4, 6, and 8
inches; therefore, it is possible to decrease the costs. Figure 15
shows a prediction of an output and a cost over time in the
future. Current problems such as deterioration of die adhesive,
sealing resin and packaging from UV rays, and a decrease in
Figure 17. White LED made of NUV + RGB phosphors.
the reflection rate of reflectors such as gold/silver coatings are
being overcome by improvements in materials technology. In
the future, to meet the demands for substituting UV lamps,
in addition to increasing the power and efficiency, analyzing 400 nm NUV-LEDs and RGB phosphors, when used as the
the reaction mechanism of each application will be important. backlight for LCD TVs, showed a high colour reproducibility
For example, in the case of resin curing, since the emission of over 100% for NTSC, and when used as white light, they
spectra of UV-LEDs are very narrow compared to mercury showed a high colour rendering index of Ra95 or higher
lamps, it has been observed that with a single wavelength, (figures 16 and 17) [2]. Although a sterilization effect has
e.g. 365 nm, the wavelength component necessary to initiate not been observed at NUV wavelengths, NUV-LEDs have
the chemical reaction was not present. White LEDs made of been applied to home appliances such as air conditioners and

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Semicond. Sci. Technol. 29 (2014) 084004 Invited Article

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