Study of short-term instabilities of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes by means of capacitance-voltage measurements and deep-level transient spectroscopy

In this paper we present a combined current-voltage, capacitance-voltage, Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy and electroluminescence study of short-term instabilities of InGaN/GaN LEDs submitted to forward current aging tests at room temperature. In the early stages of the aging tests at low forward current levels (15-20 mA), LEDs present a decrease in optical power, which stabilizes within the first 50 hours and never exceeds 10% (measured at 20 mA). The spectral distribution of the electroluminescence intensity does not change with stress, while C-V profiles detect changes consisting in apparent doping and/or charge concentration increase within quantum wells. This increase is correlated with the decrease in optical power. Capacitance Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy has been carried out to clarify the DC aging induced generation/modification of the energy levels present in the devices. Remarkable changes occur after the stress, which can be related to the doping/charge variation and thus to the efficiency loss.