High efficiency GaN-based LEDs : light extraction by photonic crystals

Abstract

Gallium nitride (GaN)-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are seen as promising candidates for the replacement of conventional light sources by all-solid state lighting. However, their efficiency is currently limited by the difficulty of extracting the light emitted within the LED, which is mostly trapped in the material by total internal reflection. This book explores the use of photonic crystals (PhCs) to increase light extraction in a deterministic fashion. PhCs act as bi-dimensional diffraction gratings which extract guided light from the LED. However, the peculiarities of GaN epitaxial layers make the optimization of such structures challenging. In particular, it turns out that the vertical structure of the LED has to be engineered so that all of the guided light may interact efficiently with the photonic crystal. Various implementations of such LEDs are proposed, modeled (by 3D methods), fabricated and characterized.