NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF WIDE BAND-GAP ALGAN INGAN LIGHT-EMITTING-DIODES FOR OUTPUT POWER CHARACTERISTICS AND EMISSION-SPECTRA/

We present results from numerical simulations of AlGaN/InGaN double-he terostructure light-emitting diodes. A highly convergent, fast, and me mory efficient algorithm necessary for wide band-gap device simulation was developed and is described here. Charge carrier tunneling current s and a band to impurity recombination mechanism are included. The res ults compare favorably to experimental results. The results demonstrat e that the saturation of power at high currents, the high rate of incr ease in currents at high voltages, and the reduced broadening of the o ptical emission spectrum at high biases, with only band-to-acceptor re combination occurring in the active region, are due to carriers leavin g the active region by thermionic emission rather than recombining. (C ) 1996 American Institute of Physics.