Employment of high Resolution RBS to characterize ultrathin transparent electrode in high efficiency GaN based Light Emitting Diode

GaN based light emitting diodes (LEDs) have attracted significant attention for use in solid state lighting. The high efficiency of LEDs has provided substantial energy savings and environmental benefits in a number of applications. A thermally stable and highly transparent low resistivity electrode is important for the fabrication of high brightness LED. Technological advances in microelectronics, optoelectronics and photonics rely on the use of precisely manufactured thin film structures (<10nm) in the LED electrodes. Recent advent of nanotechnology demands the ability to fully and nondestructively characterize such films in the monolayer range. In this work, we present a new metallization scheme to reduce the contact resistance and enhance current injection into the LED for improved light extraction, using excimer laser irradiation. Various techniques, including Rutherford backscattering, transmission electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy techniques are used to study the contact properties of the thin film electrodes.