Junction temperature in ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

The junction temperature and thermal resistance of AlGaN and GaInN ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 295 and 375 nm, respectively, are measured using the temperature coefficient of diode-forward voltage. An analysis of the experimental method reveals that the diode-forward voltage has a high accuracy of +/- 3 degrees C. A comprehensive theoretical model for the dependence of diode-forward voltage (V(f)) on junction temperature (T(j)) is developed taking into account the temperature dependence of the energy gap and the temperature coefficient of diode resistance. The difference between the junction voltage temperature coefficient (dV(j)/dT) and the forward voltage temperature coefficient (dV(f)/dT) is shown to be caused by diode series resistance. The data indicate that the n-type neutral regions are the dominant resistive element in deep-UV devices. A linear relationship between junction temperature and current is found. Junction temperature is also measured by the emission-peak-shift method. The high-energy slope of the spectrum is explored in the measurement of carrier temperature.