Enhancement of Light Output Power of GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diodes by a Reflective Current Blocking Layer C. C. Kao, Y. K. Su, Fellow, IEEE, and C. L. Lin

In this study, a GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) with a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) current blocking layer (CBL) beneath the p-pad electrode is demonstrated. A high reflec- tivity DBR structure is composed of five periods SiO and TiO layers. At a driving current of 20 mA, the light output power of the LEDs with DBR CBL was 16.8% and 11.3% higher than the LEDs without and with SiO CBL. The improvement is contributed to the DBR CBL can deflect the current away from the p-electrode pad and also prevent the light absorption by the opaque metal elec- trode. It was found that LEDs with DBR CBL shows better current spreading and broader far-field pattern. Index Terms—Current blocking layer (CBL), distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), light-emitting diode (LEDs), nitride.