Transient voltage suppressor diode designed for the protection of high-brightness GaN-based LEDs from various electrostatic discharge shocks

Transient voltage suppressor (TVS) diodes were fabricated using low-temperature epitaxy technology and were employed to improve the electrostatic discharge (ESD) strength of GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs). The ESD performance and the protection capability of the TVS diodes were investigated using various ESD simulators of the human body model (HBM), the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 61000-4-2 (IEC), and a transmission line pulse (TLP) analysis. According to the IEC, the manufactured TVS diode could withstand in excess of ±30 kV without any degradation in the I-V characteristics; meanwhile, the GaN LED itself exhibited catastrophic degradation caused by weak ESD power. The GaN LED assembled with the TVS diode had improved ESD robustness from ±3.8 kV to ±8 kV according to the HBM, from ±1.2 kV to > ±30 kV according to the IEC, and from 4.3 A to > ±30 A according to the TLP analysis. Furthermore, its performance was maintained perfect I–V manner with negligible changes in radiant power, leakage current and breakdown voltage up to the limit of the ESD simulators. Namely, the manufactured TVS diodes were effective in the protection of sensitive GaN LEDs from very strong ESD shocks.