Enhanced light extraction of high-voltage light emitting diodes using a sidewall chamfer structure

High-voltage light-emitting diodes (HV-LEDs) were prepared with 4 × 2 microcells. A novel technique for enhancing the light extraction of HV-LEDs by using wet-etched chamfer structures in the sidewalls of each cell is proposed. The thicknesses of the u-GaN layers used were in the range of 3-7 μm. Simulations revealed that the light extraction of the HV-LEDs with chamfer structures would be enhanced by increasing the u-GaN thickness. The output power (@80 mA) of the HV-LEDs without chamfer structures was 538.0-539.1 mW. However, the output powers (@80 mA) of the HV-LEDs with chamfer structures and u-GaN thicknesses of 3, 5, and 7 μm were increased to 555.3, 573.1, and 561.6 mW, respectively. The 7 μm thick u-GaN layer led to an extremely large thickness of the HV-LED epitaxial structure, which caused difficulties during the wet etching process. Because of the apparent decrease in the wet etching rate of GaN, the damages to the epitaxial structures of the HV-LED with the 7 μm thick u-GaN was more obvious. Therefore, the device's light extraction was slightly reduced. The results confirm that chamfer structures are highly useful for improving the performance of HV-LEDs, especially for the u-GaN thickness of 5 μm.