Analysis of the External Quantum Efficiency of 233 nm Far-Ultraviolet-C-Light Emitting Diodes with Distributed Polarization Doped p-AlGaN-Layers

A. Muhin^a, T. Kolbe^b, F. Schuldt^a, M. Guttmann^b, S. Hagedorn^b, J. Rass^b, S. Einfeldt^b, M. Weyers^b, T. Wernicke^a, and M. Kneissl^a,b

Published in:

phys. stat. sol. (rrl), vol. 19, no. 12, pp. 2500183, doi:10.1002/pssr.202500183 (2025).

Abstract:

AlGaN-based far-ultraviolet-C light emitting diodes (far-UVC LEDs) with an emission wavelength of 233 nm and a peak external quantum efficiency (η_EQE) of 1% are explored to derive the radiative recombination efficiency (η_RRE), the light extraction efficiency (η_LEE), and the carrier injection efficiency (η_CIE). In order to investigate the η_EQE over a wide range of current density, and exclude the effect of heating, continuous wave and pulsed electroluminescence measurements are performed on far-UVC LEDs with distributed polarization doped p-AlGaN layers. By applying the ABC-model based Titkov–Dai method and calibrated Monte Carlo ray-tracing simulations, a maximum η_RRE of η_RRE^max = (43 ± 7)%, a η_LEE = (8.8 ± 0.8)%, and a η_CIE = (26 ± 8)% can be determined. The different efficiency parameters of the 233 nm far-UVC LEDs are compared to state-of-the-art AlGaN-based 265 nm LEDs and InGaN multi quantum well blue LEDs. In this context, strategies for most promising approaches to advance the η_EQE of far-UVC LEDs are discussed.

Topics:

aluminum gallium nitride, current injection efficiency, electroluminescence spectroscopy, internal quantum efficiency, radiative recombination efficiency, ultra violet light emitting diodes

© 2025 The Author(s). physica status solidi (RRL) Rapid Research Letters published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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