Optical and Electrical Characteristics of Vertical Light-Emitting Diodes Formed Using Various Current Blocking Methods

This study compared the optical and electrical characteristics of GaN-based vertical light-emitting diodes (VLEDs) formed using various current blocking (CB) methods. The buried-type SiO2 CB method was found to be most effective in increasing the light output power of the VLEDs. In addition, the use of SiO2 CB layers (CBLs) produced less than 3% of the initial optical power drop and stable electrical properties after a 720 h reliability test. The O-2 plasma treatment, however, caused severe degradation of the VLED reliability due mainly to plasma-induced damage to the p-GaN layer during CBL formation.