Optoelectronic Course

Light Emitting Diode

LED

By prof. Faruk Fonthal Rico, Ph.D.

Radiation Sources:

The Current - Voltage (i,V) relationship for a

diode can usually be written as:

1
i i0 exp eV

kT

where i0 is a constant, the reverse saturation

current.
The mode of recombination depends upon the
semiconductor material and its impurities. In
either mode of recombination the wavelength of
radiation depends upon the energy gap or band
gap and can be
calculated
from the following
hc
1240
equation:

E c Ev

E E g

Classification of Radiation
Sources

By wavelength and color:

SiC
3.00
413
VIO

PS
2.65
465
BLU

GaP
2.34
560
GRN

GaAsP
1.91
650
RED

AlSb
1.60
775
NIR

Porous Silicon

GaAs
1.43
910
NIR

PS
1.31
945
NIR

Si
1.12
1106
IR

NdYAG
1.23
1040
IR

GaInAsSb
0.26
2700
IR

ErYAG
0.54
2300
IR
3

Excitation

Listing of Sources by Source

Excitation
Mode
Electric Current in
Electric Current in
Thermal

Semiconductors

Gas
Chato
Luminescence

Optical Gas
Discharge
Chemical

Luminescent
Phenomenon

Incandescence

Electroluminescence

Types of
Devices

Light Bulbs
7-segment
Display

LED

7-Segment
dot matrix
display

Lumines
cent
Panels

Gas
Discharge
Lamps

Plasma
Display

Communication
Industrial,
Military,
Medicine

Working
Voltage

M,H

L,H

H
AC

Flux Output

Point Source
Area Source

Point
Source

----------

Area
Source

Point
Source

Area
Source

Point Source
Coherent

Intensity

M,H

M,H

Spectrum

Continues

Cost

L,M,H

Life

M,H

M,H

Single Frequency wide band

Single Frequency
wide band

Laser

Monochromatic

By semiconductor materials Band Gap

Group

Element

Direct/
indirect

Eg (eV)

(nm)

Group

Element

Direct/
indirect

Eg (eV)

(nm)

IV

5.47

227

II-VI

ZnO

3.20

387

Si

1.12

1106

ZnS()

3.80

326

Ge

0.67

1880

ZnS()

3.60

344

IV-VI

SiC
(hex,)

3.00

413

ZnSe

2.28

480

III-V

AlP

2.45

506

CdS

2.53

490

AlN

5.90

210

CdSe

1.74

712

AlSb

1.50

826

CdTe

1.50

826

AlAs

2.16

574

GaN

3.40

365

GaAs

1.43

861

InN

2.40

516

InP

1.35

918

LIGHT EMITTING DIODE LED

Photonic Devices are those

in which the basic particle
of light the photon.
Photonic Devices can be
divided into 3 groups:

1.
2.
3.

Devices that convert electrical

energy into optical radiation
LED and diode Laser
Devices that detect optical
signals through electronic
processes Photodetectors
Devices that convert optical
radiation into electrical energy
Photovoltaic device or solar cell.

The electroluminescence
phenomenon was
discovered in 1907 by Dr.
H.J Round.
6

LED Materials

Commercial LED Materials

Material

Dopant

Peak
Emission
(nm)

GaAs

Si

910-1020

Infrared

GaP

570

Green

GaP

N, N

590

Yellow

GaP

Zn,O

700

Red

650

Red

GaAs0.6P0.4

Color

GaAs0.35P0.65

632

Orange

GaAs0.15P0.85

589

Yellow

Ga0.6Al0.4As

Zn

650

Red

GaxAs1-xAs
(1<x<0.7)

Si

870-890

Infrared

Commercial LED Materials

LED Configuration and Performance

10

LED Configuration and Performance

11

LED Configuration and Performance

12

Organic Light Emitting Diode OLED

Bernanose and co-workers first produced electroluminescence
in organic materials in the early 1950s by applying a highvoltage alternating current (AC) field to crystalline thin films of
acridine orange and quinacrine.
In a subsequent 1977 paper, Shirakawa et al. reported high
conductivity
in
similarly
oxidized
and
iodine-doped
polyacetylene. Heeger, MacDiarmid & Shirakawa received the
2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "The discovery and
development of conductive organic polymers".
OLED technology was first developed at Eastman Kodak
Company by Dr. Ching Tang using Small-molecules.

A 3.8cm (1.5in) OLED Screen

Sony 11-inch OLED, slated for release

in Japan at the end of 2007

13

Working principle of OLED

An OLED is composed of an emissive layer, a conductive layer, a
substrate, and anode and cathode terminals. The layers are made of
special organic polymer molecules that conduct electricity. Their levels
of conductivity range from those of insulators to those of conductors,
and so they are called organic semiconductors.

OLED schematic: 1. Cathode (), 2. Emissive Layer, 3. Emission of radiation, 4. Conductive Layer, 5.
Anode (+)

A voltage is applied across the OLED such that the anode is positive
with respect to the cathode. This causes a current of electrons to flow
through the device from cathode to anode. Thus, the cathode gives
electrons to the emissive layer and the anode withdraws electrons
from the conductive layer; in other words, the anode gives
electron holes to the conductive layer.
14

OLEDs
W.F. Xie, K.C. Lau, C.S. Lee, S.T.
Lee, Thin Solid Films 515 (2007)
69756977

15

OLEDs
Mira Park et al, Optics and
Lasers in Engineering 44 (2006)
138146

16

OLEDs
S. Cheylan, H.J. Bolink, A.
Fraleoni-Morgera, J. Puigdollers,
C. Voz,
I. Mencarelli, L. Setti, R.
Alcubilla, G. Badenes, Organic
Electronics 8 (2007) 641647

17

OLEDs

18