On the importance of AlGaN electron blocking layer design for GaN-based light-emitting diodes

There has been confusion regarding the usefulness of AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) in GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with some published experimental data indicating that the LEDs without EBL performed better than those with it. InGaN/GaN LEDs have been investigated numerically to analyze its actual effect in these devices. Simulation results show that hole blocking effect of EBL mainly determines the effectiveness of using it which is more sensitive to its Al composition, band offset ratio, and polarization charges. It is found that the choice of Al composition is critical for EBL to improve the optical performance of GaN-based LEDs.