Surface plasmon enhanced light emission from AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes grown on Si (111)

We report on the development of surface plasmon (SP) enhanced AlGaN-based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on silicon (111) substrates. In order to generate SP-coupling with the radiating dipoles in MQWs, an aluminum layer is selectively deposited in holes etched in the top p-AlGaN to p-GaN layers. After flip-chip bonding and substrate removal, an optical output power of ∼1.2 mW is achieved at an emission wavelength of 346 nm; the output power of these UV LEDs with Al layer is increased by 45% compared to that of conventional UV LEDs without Al layer. This enhancement can be attributed to an increase in the spontaneous emission rate and improved internal quantum efficiency via resonance coupling between excitons in MQWs and SPs in the aluminum layer.