Patent ID: 8648328

Claim:
A method for fabricating a light emitting diode (LED) using three-dimensional gallium nitride (GaN) pillar structures with planar surfaces, the method comprising; forming a plurality of GaN pillar structures, each GaN pillar structure being formed as follows: growing an n-doped GaN film overlying a second substrate; generating a pattern of dislocation defects in a top surface of the GaN film; wet etching the dislocation defects in the GaN film top surface; removing GaN material damaged in response to forming the dislocation defects; stopping the removal of GaN material in response to encountering c-planes, m-planes, and a-planes in the GaN film; forming an n-doped GaN (n-GaN) pillar core having a first end attached to the second substrate, a second end, with at least one of the ends formed in a c-plane, and planar sidewalls perpendicular to the c-plane, formed in a plane selected from a group consisting of an m-plane and a-plane family; forming a multiple quantum well (MQW) shell surrounding the n-GaN pillar sidewalls; forming a p-doped GaN (p-GaN) shell surrounding the MQW shell; detaching a plurality of GaN pillar structures from the second substrate; depositing the plurality of GaN pillar structures on a first substrate, with the n-doped GaN pillar sidewalls aligned parallel to a top surface of the first substrate; connecting a first end of each GaN pillar structure to a first metal layer to form a first electrode; etching a second end of each GaN pillar structure to expose the n-GaN pillar second end; and, subsequent to etching the second end of each GaN pillar structure, connecting the second end of each GaN pillar structure to a second metal layer to form a second electrode.