MODULE-4

THE LIGHT EMITTING DIODE

PROF.A.JABEENA
 MODULE:4-LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LED)
SOURCES

 Double hetero-junction LED, surface emitter

LED, edge emitter LED, super luminescent
LED, LED power and efficiency, LED
characteristics-output power, output spectrum,
modulation bandwidth, reliability.
INSIDE A LIGHT EMITTING DIODE

1. Transparent Plastic
Case
2. Terminal Pins
3. Diode
KINDS OF LEDS
When the electron
falls down from
conduction band and
fills in a hole in
valence band, there is CB
an obvious loss of
energy.
VB

The question is;

where does that energy go?
In order to achieve a
reasonable efficiency
for photon emission,
the semiconductor CB
must have a direct
band gap.
VB

The question is;

what is the mechanism
behind photon emission in LEDs?
For example;
E
Silicon is known as an indirect band-gap
material.
What this means is that
as an electron goes from the bottom of
the conduction band to the top of the CB
valence band;
k
it must also undergo a
significant change in VB
momentum.
 As we all know, whenever something changes
state, one must conserve not only energy, but also
momentum.
 In the case of an electron going from conduction
band to the valence band in silicon, both of these
things can only be conserved:

The transition also creates a

quantized set of lattice vibrations,
called phonons, or "heat“ .
 Phonons possess both energy and momentum.
 Their creation upon the recombination of an
electron and hole allows for complete conservation
of both energy and momentum.
 All of the energy which the electron gives up in going
from the conduction band to the valence band (1.1
eV) ends up in phonons, which is another way of
saying that the electron heats up the crystal.
In a class of materials called direct band-gap
semiconductors;
 the transition from conduction band to
valence band involves essentially no
change in momentum.
 Photons, it turns out, possess a fair amount
of energy ( several eV/photon in some
cases ) but they have very little momentum
associated with them.
 Thus, for a direct band gap material, the excess
energy of the electron-hole recombination can
either be taken away as heat, or more likely, as a
photon of light.
 This radiative transition then
conserves energy and momentum
by giving off light whenever an
electron and hole recombine. CB

This gives rise to

(for us) a new type
of device; VB
the light emitting diode (LED).
 MECHANİSM BEHİND PHOTON EMİSSİON
İN LEDS?
Mechanism is “injection
Electroluminescence”.
Luminescence part tells us that
we are producing photons.

Electro part tells us that e-

the photons are being produced by
an electric current.

Injection tells us that e-

photon production is by
the injection of current carriers.
PRODUCİNG PHOTON

Electrons recombine with holes.

e-

CB
Energy of photon is the energy of
band gap. VB
METHOD OF İNJECTİON
 We need putting a lot of e-’s where there are lots of
holes.
 So electron-hole recombination can occur.
 Forward biasing a p-n junction will inject lots of e-’s
from n-side, across the depletion region into the p-
side where they will be combine with the high density
of majority carriers.

I
-
+ n-side
p-side
NOTİCE THAT:
 Photon emission occurs whenever we have injected
minority carriers recombining with the majority
carriers.
 If the e- diffusion length is greater than the hole
diffusion length, the photon emitting region will be
bigger on the p-side of the junction than that of the
n-side.
 Constructing a real LED may be best to consider a
n++p structure.
 It is usual to find the photon emitting volume
occurs mostly on one side of the junction region.
 This applies to LASER devices as well as LEDs.
 MATERIALS FOR LEDS
 To fabricate LEDs that can emit
photons from the infrared to the
ultraviolet parts of the e.m.
spectrum, then we must consider
several different material systems.
CB
 No single system can span this
energy band at present, although
the 3-5 nitrides come close.
VB
 Unfortunately, many of potentiallly useful 2-6 group
of direct band-gap semiconductors (ZnSe,ZnTe,etc.)
come naturally doped either p-type, or n-type, but
they don’t like to be type-converted by overdoping.
 The material reasons behind this are complicated
and not entirely well-known.
 The same problem is encountered in the 3-5
nitrides and their alloys InN, GaN, AlN, InGaN,
AlGaN, and InAlGaN. The amazing thing about 3-5
nitride alloy systems is that appear to be direct gap
throughout.
 When we talk about light ,it is conventional to
specify its wavelength, λ, instead of its frequency.
 Visible light has a wavelength on the order of
nanometers.

hc 1242
 (nm)   (nm) 
E (eV ) E (eV )
 Thus, a semiconductor with a 2 eV band-gap should
give a light at about 620 nm (in the red). A 3 eV
band-gap material would emit at 414 nm, in the
violet.
 The human eye, of course, is not equally
responsive to all colors.
RELATİVE RESPONSE OF THE HUMAN EYE TO VARİOUS
COLORS Relative eye response

100

10-1

GaAs.14p86

GaAs.35p65

GaAs.6p4
GaP:N
ZnSe
GaN

10-2

10-3
violet blue green yellow orange red

10-4 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750
Wavelength in nanometers

•The materials which are used for important light emitting

diodes (LEDs) for each of the different spectral regions.
PROPERTİES OF INGAN
 InGaN alloy has one composition at a time only.
 This material will emit one wavelength only
corresponding to this particular composition.
 An InGaN LED would not emit white light (the whole of
the visible spectrum at once) since its specific
composition.
 For a white light source we have to form a complicated
multilayer device emitting lots of different
wavelengths.
PROPERTİES OF INGAN

 A LED fabricated in a graded material where on

either side of the junction region the material
changes slowly from InN to GaN via InGaN
alloys.
 Minority carriers need to get through the whole
of this alloy region if efficient photon
production at all visible wavelengths was to
occur.
 GaN InN
The highly The highly
Concentration: gallium rich indium rich
alloy alloy

Band gap: 3.3eV 2 eV

Wavelength of 376 nm 620 nm
photons:
Part of the
electromagnetic In the ultraviolet In the visible
spectrum: (orange)
 GaN
InN

ultraviolet
3.3 eV(376 nm)
 GaN
InN

violet
3 eV (414 nm)
GaN
InN

2.7 eV(460 nm)

GaN
InN

2.4 eV(517 nm)

GaN
InN

2.1 eV(591 nm)

GaN

InN
2 eV(620 nm)

2.00 eV
A number of the important LEDs are based on the GaAsP system.
GaAs is a direct band-gap S/C with a band gap of 1.42 eV (in the
infrared).
GaP is an indirect band-gap material with a band gap of 2.26 eV
(550nm, or green).

GaAs
GaP

1.42 eV
GaAs
GaP

1.52 eV
GaAs
GaP

1.62 eV
GaAs
GaP

1.72 eV
GaAs
GaP

1.80 eV
GaAs
GaP

1.90 eV
GaAs
GaP

2.00 eV
GaAs
GaP

2.26 eV
 • Addition of a nitrogen
recombination center to
_
indirect GaAsP .
 Both As and P are group V
Energy

elements. (Hence the

nomenclature of the
h
materials as III-V
compound
+ semiconductors.)

Momentum
 We can replace some of the As with P in
GaAs and make a mixed compound
semiconductor GaAs1-xPx.
 When the mole fraction of phosphorous is
less than about 0.45 the band gap is direct,
and so we can "engineer" the desired color
of LED that we want by simply growing a
crystal with the proper phosphorus
concentration!
(a) Direct-gap GaAs (b) Crossover GaAs0.50P0.50 (c) Indirect-gap GaP
X CB
Minimum
N Level

Γ CB
Minimum N Level
N Level

Γ VB
Maximum

Schematic band structure of GaAs, GaAsP, and GaP. Also

shown is the nitrogen level. At a P mole fraction of about 45-
50 %, the direct-indirect crossover occurs.
MATERIALS FOR VISIBLE WAVELENGTH LEDS

 We see them almost everyday, either on calculator displays or

indicator panels.
 Red LED use as “ power on” indicator
 Yellow, green and amber LEDs are also widely available but
very few of you will have seen a blue LED.
RED LEDS

 can be made in the GaAsP

p-GaAsP region
(gallium arsenide phosphide).
N-GaAsP P = 40 %
 GaAs1-xPx
 for 0<x<0.45 has direct-gap N-GaAs substrate
 for x>0.45 the gap goes
indirect and
 for x=0.45 the band gap Ohmic Contacts
energy is 1.98 eV. Dielectric
(oxide or nitride)
 Hence it is useful for red LEDs.
Fig. GaAsP RED LED on a GaAs sub.
ISOELECTRONIC CENTRE

 Isoelectronic means that the centre being introduced has the

same number of valance electrons as the element it is
replacing.

 For example, nitrogen can replace some of the phosphorus in

GaP. It is isoelectronic with phosphorus, but behaves quite
differently allowing reasonably efficient green emission.
HOW ISOELECTRONIC CENTRES WORK?
E
 For our isoelectronic centre CB edge
the position is very well- Isoelectronic electrons
defined, hence there is a centre
considerable spread in its
momentum state. Electron-hole
dE

 Isoelectronic centre has the recombination

same valance configuration
Holes
as the phosphorus it is
replacing. VB edge
 It doesn't act as a dopant. k=0
ISOELECTRONIC CENTRES PROVIDE A ‘STEPPING STONE’ FOR
ELECTRONS IN E-K SPACE SO THAT TRANSITIONS CAN OCCUR
THAT ARE RADIATIVELY EFFICIENT.
E CB edge
Isoelectronic electrons
centre

The recombination event shown

has no change in momentum, Electron-hole
dE

so it behaves like a direct recombination

transition. Holes

VB edge
k=0

Because the effective transition is occurring between the

isoelectronic centre and VB edge, the photon that is
emitted has a lower energy than the band-gap energy.
GAP : N

 (dE = 50 meV) Photon energy is E CB edge

less than the semiconductor Isoelectronic electrons
band-gap energy it means that centre
the photon is not absorbed by
the semiconductor, and so the 50 meV
dE
photon is easily emitted from Electron-hole
recombination
the material.
Holes

 This lack of absorption pushes VB edge

up the efficiency of the diode as k=0
a photon source.
 For emission in the red part of the spectrum using GaP the
isoelectronic centre introduced contains zinc (Zn) and
oxygen (O). These red LEDs are usually designated GaP:ZnO
and they are quite efficient.

 Their main drawback is that their emission at 690 nm is in a

region where the eye sensitivity is rather low, which means
that commercially, the AlGaAs/GaAs diodes are more
successful devices.
ORANGE-YELLOW & GREEN LEDS

 Orange (620 nm) and yellow (590 nm) LEDs are

commercially made using the GaAsP system. However, as
we have just seen above, the required band-gap energy for
emission at these wavelengths means the GaAsP system
will have an indirect gap.

 The isoelectronic centre used in this instance is nitrogen,

and the different wavelengths are achieved in these diodes
by altering the phosphorus concentration.

 The green LEDs (560 nm) are manufactured using the GaP
system with nitrogen as the isoelectronic centre.
BLUE LEDS
 Blue LEDs are commercially available
and are fabricated using silicon carbide
(SiC). Devices are also made based on
gallium nitride (GaN).

 Unfortunately both of these materials

systems have major drawbacks which
render these devices inefficient.

 The reason silicon carbide has a low

efficiency as an LED material is that it
has an indirect gap, and no ‘magic’
isoelectronic centre has been found to
date.
BLUE LEDS

 The transitions that give rise to blue photon

emission in SiC are between the bands and
doping centres in the SiC. The dopants used in
manufacturing SiC LEDs are nitrogen for n-type
doping, and aluminium for p-type doping.
 The extreme hardness of SiC also requires
extremely high processing temperatures.
GALLIUM NITRIDE (GAN)

 Gallium nitride has the advantage of being a direct-gap

semiconductor, but has the major disadvantage that bulk
material cannot be made p-type.

 GaN as grown, is naturally n++ .

 Light emitting structures are made by producing an intrinsic

GaN layer using heavy zinc doping. Light emission occurs
when electrons are injected from an n+ GaN layer into the
intrinsic Zn-doped region.
 A possible device structure is i-GaN
shown in fig. n + GaN
 Unfortunately, the recombination Sapphire
process that leads to photon Substrate
(transparent)
production involves the Zn impurity
centres, and photon emission
processes involving impurity Blue photons
centres are much less efficient Ohmic Contacts
than band-to-band processes. Dielectric
(oxide or nitride)

Fig. Blue LED

 It is generally true to say that if we order the photon
producing processes (in semiconductors) in terms of
efficiency, we would get a list like the one below.
 band-to-band recombination in direct gap material,
 recombination via isoelectronic centres,
 recombination via impurity (not isoelectronic) centres,
 band-to-band recombination in indirect-gap materials.

 So, the current situation is that we do have low-efficiency

blue LEDs commercially available. We are now awaiting a
new materials system, or a breakthrough in GaN or SiC
technology, for blue LEDs of higher brightness and higher
efficiency to be produced.
 Wavelength Semiconductor
Color Name
(Nanometers) Composition
Infrared 880 GaAlAs/GaAs
Ultra Red 660 GaAlAs/GaAlAs
Super Red 633 AlGaInP
Super Orange 612 AlGaInP
Orange 605 GaAsP/GaP
Yellow 585 GaAsP/GaP
Incandescent
4500K (CT) InGaN/SiC
White
Pale White 6500K (CT) InGaN/SiC
Cool White 8000K (CT) InGaN/SiC
Pure Green 555 GaP/GaP
Super Blue 470 GaN/SiC

Blue Violet 430 GaN/SiC

Ultraviolet 395 InGaN/SiC

 Wavelength Wavelength
Material Material
(µm) (µm)
ZnS 0.33 GaAs 0.84-0.95
ZnO 0.37 InP 0.91
Gan 0.40 GaSb 1.55
ZnSe 0.46 InAs 3.1
CdS 0.49 Te 3.72
ZnTe 0.53 PbS 4.3
GaSe 0.59 InSb 5.2
CdSe 0.675 PbTe 6.5
CdTe 0.785 PbSe 8.5
HOW TO CONNECT A LED:

 Requires 1.5~2.5V and 10 mA

 To prevent overloading, use resistor 470 Ω
HOW TO CONNECT A LED:
SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS WITH OPTICAL
SOURCES

 Physical dimensions to suit the fiber

 Narrow radiation pattern (beam width)

 Linearity (output light power proportional to

driving current)
CONSIDERATIONS WITH OPTICAL SOURCES

 Ability to be directly modulated by varying

driving current

 Fast response time (wide band)

 Adequate output power into the fiber

CONSIDERATIONS…

 Narrow spectral width (or line width)

 Stability and efficiency

 Driving circuit issues

 Reliability and cost

THE LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED)

 For fiber-optics, the LED should have a

high radiance (light intensity), fast
response time and a high quantum
efficiency
 Double or single hetero-structure devices
 Surface emitting (diffused radiation) Vs
Edge emitting (more directional) LED’s
 Emitted wavelength depends on bandgap
energy
E g  h  hc / 
 OPERATING WAVELENGTH

Fiber optic communication systems operate in the

 850-nm,
 1300-nm, and
 1550-nm wavelength windows.
 Semiconductor sources are designed to operate
at wavelengths that minimize optical fiber
absorption and maximize system bandwidth
LED WAVELENGTH

1.2399
 ( m) 
E (eV)

 = hc/E(eV)

 = wavelength in microns
h = Planks constant
C = speed of light
E = Photon energy in eV
BANDGAP ENERGY AND POSSIBLE WAVELENGTH
RANGES IN VARIOUS MATERIALS
SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES

 Semiconductor LEDs emit incoherent

light.
 Spontaneous emission of light in
semiconductor LEDs produces light
waves that lack a fixed-phase
relationship. Light waves that lack a
fixed-phase relationship are referred to
as incoherent light
 SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES CONT…

 The use of LEDs in single mode systems is

severely limited because they emit unfocused
incoherent light.
 Even LEDs developed for single mode systems
are unable to launch sufficient optical power
into single mode fibers for many applications.
 LEDs are the preferred optical source for
multimode systems because they can launch
sufficient power at a lower cost than
semiconductor LDs.
TYPES OF LED

The basic LED types used for fiber

optic communication systems are
 PLANAR LED

 DOME LED

 Surface-emitting LED (SLED),

 Edge-emitting LED (ELED), and

 Super luminscent LED (SLD)

LED PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES (1)
 LED performance differences help link designers to
decide which device is appropriate for the intended
application.
 For short-distance (0 to 3 km), low-data-rate fiber
optic systems, SLEDs and ELEDs are the preferred
optical source.
 Typically, SLEDs operate efficiently for bit rates up
to 250 megabits per second (Mb/s). Because
SLEDs emit light over a wide area (wide far-field
angle), they are almost exclusively used in
multimode systems.
LED PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES (2)
 For medium-distance, medium-data-rate
systems, ELEDs are preferred.
 ELEDs may be modulated at rates up to 400
Mb/s. ELEDs may be used for both single
mode and multimode fiber systems.
 Both SLDs and ELEDs are used in long-
distance, high-data-rate systems. SLDs are
ELED-based diodes designed to operate in
the superluminescence mode.
 SLDs may be modulated at bit rates of over
400 Mb/s.
SURFACE-EMITTING LEDS

 The surface-emitting LED is also known as the Burrus

LED in honor of C. A. Burrus, its developer.
 In SLEDs, the size of the primary active region is limited
to a small circular area of 20 m to 50 m in diameter.
 The active region is the portion of the LED where
photons are emitted. The primary active region is below
the surface of the semiconductor substrate perpendicular
to the axis of the fiber.
 A well is etched into the substrate to allow direct
coupling of the emitted light to the optical fiber. The
etched well allows the optical fiber to come into close
contact with the emitting surface.
SURFACE-EMITTING LED
EDGE-EMITTING LED
 LED SPECTRAL WIDTH

Edge emitting LED’s have slightly narrow line width

RATE EQUATIONS, QUANTUM EFFICIENCY & POWER OF
LEDS
 When there is no external carrier injection, the excess density
decays exponentially due to electron-hole recombination.

n(t )  n0 e t /
 n is the excess carrier density,

n0 : initial injected excess electron density

 : carrier lifetime.
 Bulk recombination rate R:

dn n
R 
dt 
 Bulk recombination rate (R)=Radiative recombination rate +
nonradiative recombination rate
bulk recombinat ion rate ( R  1/τ ) 
radiative recombinat ion rate ( Rr  1/τ r )  nonradiati ve recombinat ion rate( Rnr  1/τ nr )

With an external supplied current density of J, the rate equation for the
electron-hole recombination is:

dn(t ) J n
 
dt qd 
q : charge of the electron; d : thickness of recombinat ion region
In equilibrium condition:
dn/dt=0
J
n
qd
 QUANTUM EFFICIENCY

 Internal quantum efficiency is the ratio between

the radiative recombination rate and the sum of
radiative and nonradiative recombination rates

int  Rr /( Rr  Rnr )

 For exponential decay of excess carriers, the

radiative recombination lifetime is n/Rr and the
nonradiative recombination lifetime is n/Rnr
INTERNAL EFFICIENCY

If the current injected into the LED is I, then

the total number of recombination per
second is, Rr+Rnr = I/q where, q is the
charge of an electron.
That is, Rr = intI/q.
Since Rr is the total number of photons
generated per second, the optical power
generated internal to the LED depends on
the internal quantum efficiency
 INTERNAL QUANTUM EFFICIENCY & OPTICAL POWER

Rr  nr 
int    [4-8]
Rr  Rnr  r   nr  r
int : internal quantum efficiency in the active region

Optical power generated internally in the active region in the LED is:

I hcI
Pint  int h  int
q
[4-9]

q
Pint : Internal optical power,
I : Injected current to active region
 EXTERNAL QUANTUM EFICIENCY

Number of photons emitted from LED

ext 
Number of LED internally generated photons

 In order to calculate the external quantum efficiency, we need to

consider the reflection effects at the surface of the LED. If we
consider the LED structure as a simple 2D slab waveguide, only
light falling within a cone defined by critical angle will be emitted
from an LED.
 c
1
ext  
4 0
T ( )(2 sin  )d
4n1n2
T ( ) : Fresnel Transmissi on Coefficien t  T (0) 
(n1  n2 ) 2
1
If n2  1  ext 
n1 (n1  1) 2
Pint
LED emitted optical powr, P  ext Pint 
n1 (n1  1) 2
 EXTERNAL EFFICIENCY
n2

n1
Light
emission
cone

External Efficiency for air

Fresnel Transmission Coefficient n2=1, n1 = n

T (0)  4n1n2 ext  1

n1  n2  2 n(n  1) 2
3-DB BANDWIDTHS
P( f )  Po 1  (2f ) 2

Optical Power  I(f); Electrical Power  I2(f)

Electrical Loss = 2 x Optical Loss

DRAWBACKS OF LED

 Large line width (30-40 nm)

 Large beam width (Low coupling to the
fiber)
 Low output power

 Low E/O conversion efficiency

Advantages
 Robust

 Linear
 Mechanisms of photon loss within an LED

(i) Absorption in the material

minimized by making the junction close to the emitting
surface
(ii) Absorption in the substrate area
minimized by using a transparent substrate
(iii) Total internal reflection at the surface
suppressed by using a dielectric encapsulation dome
(iv) Transmission losses at the interface
minimized by using a dielectric encapsulation dome
(v) Reflection at the top M/S interface
minimized by using as small an area as possible of top
metal contact
(vi) Absorption in the top contact metal
minimized by using as small area as possible of top metal
contact