Understanding the Sidewall Passivation Effects in AlGaInP/GaInP Micro-LED

The passivation effects of sulfur treatment and Al₂O₃ passivation for AlGaInP/GaInP red micro-light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) were investigated in terms of the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and the current density showing the peak EQE (J_{EQE, peak}). We systematically compared the electrical and optical characteristics of the micro-LEDs with and without passivation according to various sizes. Interestingly, our investigation indicated that simple electrical characteristics such as current density-voltage property are difficult to precisely reflect the minor change in electrical properties due to passivation when the device has the inherently low leakage current. Whereas the EQE was enhanced by 20% and J_{EQE, peak} was largely shifted to a lower current density region at the LED with a size of 15 × 15 μm². To examine the passivation effects, we carefully analyzed the EQE and J_{EQE, peak} with the ABC recombination model, and established the methodology to investigate the influence of a sidewall in micro-LEDs. As a result, we extracted the surface recombination velocity regarding the surface passivation, showing a nearly 14% reduction with the passivation.