Boosting the efficiency of InGaN-based green LEDs grown on Si through buffer strain engineering

InGaN-based micro-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on Si have gained tremendous interest for full-color displays. Strain management is a key challenge for the epitaxial growth of InGaN-based long-wavelength LEDs on Si because the accumulated compressive strain can severely limit In incorporation and degrade the quality of InGaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) when the conventional Al-composition step-graded AlN/AlGaN buffer is used for strain control. In this work, we demonstrate a promising approach to effectively reduce the in-plane residual compressive stress of GaN by using an AlN single-layer buffer. The in-plane lattice parameter of the GaN underlayer was increased from 3.183 to 3.189 Å with the residual compressive stress at room temperature reduced from 0.37 to ∼0 GPa, which significantly improved the In incorporation of InGaN MQWs and extended the photoluminescence wavelength from 510 to 550 nm. A remarkably high internal quantum efficiency of 78% was thus achieved for the as-grown InGaN-based green LEDs on Si. This work paves the way for the growth of high-efficiency InGaN-based long-wavelength micro-LEDs.