Design of deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with staggered AlGaN quantum wells

• Staggered AlGaN quantum wells are designed for UV LEDs.
• The electron and hole wave function overlap is improved in the designed UV LEDs.
• The enhanced injection efficiency of carrier has been obtained.

The AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV LEDs) with specific design of staggered AlGaN quantum wells are investigated numerically. The proposed UV LEDs with Al0.45Ga0.55N–Al0.5Ga0.5N–Al0.45Ga0.55N and Al0.5Ga0.5N–Al0.45Ga0.55N–Al0.5Ga0.5N staggered quantum well layers exhibit significant improvement for the light output power and carrier injection efficiency compared with the conventional AlGaN UV LED. The enhanced performance of the designed LEDs is explained by the simulated distribution of carrier concentration, radiative recombination rate and wave function overlap in the quantum wells.

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