Is Auger recombination responsible for the efficiency rollover in III-nitride light-emitting diodes?

Abstract

Practically all III-nitride light emitting diodes (LEDs) suffer from the efficiency rollover that occurs at high electric currents in the devices and limits their performance. At the moment, the mechanisms responsible for the rollover are not yet confidently identified despite the crucial importance of this problem for the LED production. On the basis of simulation, we suggest that the Auger recombination is a likely mechanism, producing the efficiency reduction at high currents. Using an empirically estimated Auger recombination coefficient, we argue for significance of this mechanism under practical operation conditions. © 2008 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.