Reliability and Degradation Mechanism of White GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diodes

Reliability and degradation mechanism of conventional phosphor-converted white GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were investigated. Under electro-thermal stress condition, the optical output degraded rapidly at the initial stress time accompanied by the change of chromatic properties. This could be attributed to the optical degradation of packaged materials, in particular, the browning of encapsulants and the darkening of reflective packages. At longer stress times, the optical output gradually decreased according to the degree of the reverse leakage currents, namely, the generation ofnonradiative recombination defects. This indicates that the optical degradation of white LEDs are dominated by the darkening of packaged materials and the generation of defects depending on the injection current and ambient temperatures. Using analyses of electroluminescence spectra, optical microscopy, electrical, optical, and thermal properties, optical degradations of white LEDs are discussed.