High-Efficiency Nitride-Based Solid-State Lighting (2005)

In this final technical progress report we summarize research accomplished during Department of Energy contract DE-FC26-01NT41203, entitled ''High-Efficiency Nitride-Based Solid-State Lighting''. Two teams, from the University of California at Santa Barbara (Principle Investigator: Dr. Shuji Nakamura) and the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (led by Dr. N. Narendran), pursued the goals of this contract from thin film growth, characterization, and packaging/luminaire design standpoints. The UCSB team initially pursued the development of blue gallium nitride (GaN)-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, as well as ultraviolet GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). In Year 2, the emphasis shifted to resonant-cavity light emitting diodes, also known as micro-cavity LEDs when extremely thin device cavities are fabricated. These devices have very directional emission and higher light extraction efficiency than conventional LEDs. Via the optimization of thin-film growth and refinement of device processing, we decreased the total cavity thickness to less than 1 {micro}m, such that micro-cavity effects were clearly observed and a light extraction efficiency of over 10% was reached. We also began the development of photonic crystals for increased light extraction, in particular for so-called ''guided modes'' which would otherwise propagate laterally in the device and be re-absorbed. Finally, we pursued the growth of smooth, high-quality nonpolar a-plane and m-plane GaN films, as well as blue light emitting diodes on these novel films. Initial nonpolar LEDs showed the expected behavior of negligible peak wavelength shift with increasing drive current. M-plane LEDs in particular show promise, as unpackaged devices had unsaturated optical output power of {approx} 3 mW at 200 mA drive current. The LRC's tasks were aimed at developing the subcomponents necessary for packaging UCSB's light emitting diodes, and packaging them to produce a white light fixture. During the third and final year of the project, the LRC team investigated alternate packaging methods for the white LED device to achieve at least 25 percent more luminous efficacy than traditional white LEDs; conducted optical ray-tracing analyses and human factors studies to determine the best form factor for the white light source under development, in terms of high luminous efficacy and greater acceptance by subjects; and developed a new die encapsulant using silicone-epoxy resins that showed less yellowing and slower degradation. At the conclusion of this project, the LRC demonstrated a new packaging method, called scattered photon extraction (SPE), that produced an average luminous flux and corresponding average efficacy of 90.7 lm and 36.3 lm/W, respectively, compared with 56.5 lm and 22.6 lm/W for a similar commercial white LED package. At low currents, the SPE package emitted white light with an efficacy of over 80 lm/W and had chromaticity values very close to the blackbody locus. The SPE package showed an overall improvement of 61% for this particular comparison, exceeding the LRC's third-year goal of 25% improvement.