Recovery of dry etch-induced damage of nano-patterned GaN-based light-emitting diodes by rapid-thermal-annealing

The effect of rapid-thermal-annealing on the performance of near-UV GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated with nano-patterned p-type electrodes has been investigated. One-dimensional (1-D) nano-patterns were formed on Cu-doped indium oxide (CIO)/indium tin oxide (ITO) p-electrode by surface relief grating and dry etching techniques. After the nano-patterning, some of the samples are rapidthermal-annealed at 530 and 630°C in either air or nitrogen ambient. LEDs made with samples annealed 530°C show much better electrical characteristics as compared to unannealed samples. In particular, LEDs with samples annealed 530°C in air show higher output power (at 20 mA) and much reduced leakage current as compared to LEDs with unannealed samples.