Effect of p-GaN hole concentration on the stabilization and performance of a graphene current spreading layer in near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

Highlight
• The graphene current spreading layers are sharply affected by hole concentrations in near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes.

We have demonstrated the effect of p-GaN hole concentration on a graphene current spreading layer (CSL) for stabilization and improved performance of a near-ultraviolet light-emitting diode (NUV LED). While NUV LEDs with a more lightly-doped p-GaN showed poor electrical and optical properties and unstable performance, NUV LEDs with more heavily-doped p-GaN (∼2 × 1017 cm−3) showed very stable, outstanding performance. The main factor of the improvement was the enhanced contact property between the graphene CSLs and the p-GaN that resulted from the increase of the hole concentration, which led to a thinner barrier and an enhanced current injection. From our results, we were able to determine that hole concentration as heavy as 2 × 1017 cm−3 in p-GaN layers is a primary condition in NUV LEDs with graphene-based CSLs.