Analytic model for the efficiency droop in semiconductors with asymmetric carrier-transport properties based on drift-induced reduction of injection efficiency

An analytic model is developed for the droop in the efficiency-versus-current curve for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) made from semiconductors having strong asymmetry in carrier concentration and mobility. For pn-junction diodes made of such semiconductors, the high-injection condition is generalized to include mobilities. Under high-injection conditions, electron drift in the p-type layer causes a reduction in injection efficiency. The drift-induced leakage term is shown to have a 3rd and 4th power dependence on the carrier concentration in the active region; the values of the 3rd- and 4th-order coefficients are derived. The model is suited to explain experimental efficiency-versus-current curves of LEDs.