Auger carrier leakage in III-nitride quantum-well light emitting diodes

Auger induced leakage is shown to be a contributing factor for the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) droop in III-nitride quantum-well light emitting diodes (LEDs). The mechanism is based on leakage current from carrier spill-out of the well originating from energy transfer during Auger recombination. Adding this leakage reduces the Auger coefficient by 50% when compared to a standard Auger model with cubic density dependence. As reference, experimental data of a green quantum-well LED are taken. Direct leakage due to non-ideal carrier capture and re-emission out of the well affects the IQE at current densities much larger than the maximum IQE point. (c) 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim