Role of substrate quality on the performance of semipolar $(11\overline{2}2)$ InGaN light-emitting diodes

We compare the optical properties and device performance of unpackaged InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at ∼430 nm grown simultaneously on a high-cost small-size bulk semipolar ($11\overline{2}2$) GaN substrate (Bulk-GaN) and a low-cost large-size ($11\overline{2}2$) GaN template created on patterned ($10\overline{1}2$) r-plane sapphire substrate (PSS-GaN). The Bulk-GaN substrate has the threading dislocation density (TDD) of ∼10⁵cm⁻²–10⁶cm⁻² and basal-plane stacking fault (BSF) density of 0 cm⁻¹, while the PSS-GaN substrate has the TDD of ∼2 × 10⁸cm⁻² and BSF density of ∼1 × 10³cm⁻¹. Despite an enhanced light extraction efficiency, the LED grown on PSS-GaN has two-times lower internal quantum efficiency than the LED grown on Bulk-GaN as determined by photoluminescence measurements. The LED grown on PSS-GaN substrate also has about two-times lower output power compared to the LED grown on Bulk-GaN substrate. This lower output power was attributed to the higher TDD and BSF density.