Comparison of p-side down and p-side up GaN light-emitting diodes fabricated by laser lift-off

The performance characteristics of laser lift-off (LLO) freestanding InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted on a Cu substrate with p-side up, and p-side down configurations were determined and compared. The InGaN/GaN MQW LED structures, which were originally fabricated on a sapphire substrate, were transferred to a Cu substrate by the LLO process into two different configurations, namely p-side up and p-side down with the same Ni/Pd/Au p-contact metallizations. Both p-side down and p-side up LLO-LEDs showed a higher current operation capability up to 400 mA than the original LEDs on the sapphire substrate. The p-side down LLO-LEDs showed a nearly eightfold increase in the light output power compared to the p-side up LLO-LEDs. The p-side down LLO-LEDs also showed a more stable wavelength emission spectrum than the p-side up ones.