PhotoniX, Volume. 5, Issue 1, 23(2024)

Ultra-low-defect homoepitaxial micro-LEDs with enhanced efficiency and monochromaticity for high-PPI AR/MR displays

Yibo Liu1, Guobin Wang3, Feng Feng1, Mengyuan Zhanghu2, Zhengnan Yuan1, Zichun Li1, Ke Xu3, Hoi Sing Kwok1, and Zhaojun Liu2、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
  • 2Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
  • 3Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiangsu Institute of Advanced Semiconductors Suzhou, China
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    The issue of brightness in strong ambient light conditions is one of the critical obstacles restricting the application of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Gallium nitride (GaN)-based micro-LEDs, renowned for their exceptional brightness and stability, are considered the foremost contenders for AR applications. Nevertheless, conventional heteroepitaxial growth micro-LED devices confront formidable challenges, including substantial wavelength shifts and efficiency droop. In this paper, we firstly demonstrated the high-quality homoepitaxial GaN-on-GaN micro-LEDs micro-display, and thoroughly analyzed the possible benefits for free-standing GaN substrate from the material-level characterization to device optoelectronic properties and micro-display application compared with sapphire substrate. The GaN-on-GaN structure exhibits a superior crystal quality with ultra-low threading dislocation densities (TDDs) of ~ 105 cm-2, which is three orders of magnitude lower than that of GaN-on-Sapphire. Through an in-depth size-dependent optoelectronic analysis of blue/green emission GaN-on-GaN/ Sapphire micro-LEDs from 100 × 100 shrink to 3 × 3 μm2, real that a lower forward voltage and series resistance, a consistent emission wavelength (1.21 nm for blue and 4.79 nm for green @ 500 A/cm2), coupled with a notable reduction in efficiency droop ratios (15.6% for blue and 28.5% for green @ 500 A/cm2) and expanded color gamut (103.57% over Rec. 2020) within GaN-on-GaN 10 μm micro-LEDs. Last but not least, the GaN-on-GaN micro-display with 3000 pixels per inch (PPI) showcased enhanced display uniformity and higher luminance in comparison to its GaN-on-Sapphire counterpart, demonstrating significant potentials for high-brightness AR/MR applications under strong ambient light.

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    Yibo Liu, Guobin Wang, Feng Feng, Mengyuan Zhanghu, Zhengnan Yuan, Zichun Li, Ke Xu, Hoi Sing Kwok, Zhaojun Liu. Ultra-low-defect homoepitaxial micro-LEDs with enhanced efficiency and monochromaticity for high-PPI AR/MR displays[J]. PhotoniX, 2024, 5(1): 23

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    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: Apr. 12, 2024

    Accepted: Jul. 15, 2024

    Published Online: Jan. 23, 2025

    The Author Email: Liu Zhaojun (liuzj@sustech.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.1186/s43074-024-00137-4

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