Degradation of GaP:N LEDs.

The degradation of light output with operating time has been studied for nitrogen doped GaP light emitting diodes fabricated from vapor phase epitaxial material. The degradation is found to saturate at a non-zero value of efficiency. The process is characterized in terms of a degradation rate constant and the saturation value of efficiency. The rate is found to be a strong function of current density during operation and to a lesser degree materials parameters such as dislocation density. The saturation value appears to be independent of these parameters. The degradation is specifically associated with a decrease in the minority carrier lifetime in the p-side of these diffused LEDs. A model for the generation of non-radiative recombination centers which describes the degradation process quantitatively is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]