LIGHT EMITTING DIODES WITH ALUMINUM-CONTAINING LAYERS INTEGRATED THEREIN AND ASSOCIATED METHODS

1 . A light-emitting diode (LED) structure, comprising:

a bulk or prep layer formed on a semiconductor template;

an active region formed on the bulk or prep layer and including:

a first barrier layer formed on the bulk or prep layer;

at least one aluminum-containing active quantum well (QW) stack formed on the first barrier layer; and

a second barrier layer formed on the active QW stack; and

at least one p-layer formed on the active region;

wherein the active region emits light from the LED structure when the at least one active QW stack is driven by an injection current.

2 . The LED structure of claim 1 , wherein the active region is configured to emit light at a red wavelength from the LED structure.

3 . The LED structure of claim 1 , the at least one active QW stack comprising (a) an aluminum-containing bottom layer formed on the first barrier layer and (b) an active QW layer formed on the aluminum-containing bottom layer.

4 . The LED structure of claim 3 , the aluminum-containing bottom layer comprising an alloy selected from the group consisting of AlGa(In)N, AlGaN, AlInN, and InAlGaN.

5 . The LED structure of claim 3 , the at least one active QW stack further comprising (c) an aluminum-containing cap layer formed on the active QW layer.

6 . The LED structure of claim 5 , the aluminum-containing cap layer comprising a 1-nm-thick AlGaN material.

7 . The LED structure of claim 1 , the at least one active QW stack comprising (a) an aluminum-containing bottom layer formed on the first barrier layer, (b) an interlayer formed on the aluminum-containing bottom layer, and (c) an active QW layer formed on the interlayer.

8 . The LED structure of claim 7 , the interlayer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of GaN, AlGaN, InGaN, and AlInGaN.

9 . The LED structure of claim 1 , the at least one active QW stack comprising an aluminum-containing QW layer formed on the first barrier layer.

10 . The LED structure of claim 9 , wherein the aluminum-containing QW layer comprises one of a pseudo alloy, digital alloy, and a short period superlattice.

11 . The LED structure of claim 1 , the at least one active QW stack comprising (a) an aluminum-containing bottom layer formed on the first barrier layer, and (b) an aluminum-containing active QW layer formed on the aluminum-containing bottom layer.

12 . The LED structure of claim 1 , the at least one active QW stack comprising (a) an aluminum-containing active QW layer formed on the first barrier layer, and (b) an aluminum-containing cap layer formed on the active QW layer.

13 . The LED structure of claim 1 , the at least one active QW stack comprising (a) an aluminum-containing bottom layer formed on the first barrier layer, (b) an aluminum-containing active QW layer formed on the aluminum-containing bottom layer, and (c) an aluminum-containing cap layer formed on the aluminum-containing active QW layer.

14 . The LED structure of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of microLED structures are monolithically formed onto the substrate template as an array that includes each of a blue microLED structure that emits light at a blue wavelength, a green microLED structure that emits light at a green wavelength, and a red microLED structure that emits light at a red wavelength.

15 . A light-emitting diode (LED) structure, comprising:

a semiconductor template;

a first preparation layer formed on the semiconductor template;

a second preparation layer formed on the first preparation layer;

at least one active quantum well (QW) layer formed over the second preparation layer; and

at least one p-layer formed on the active QW layer;

wherein the active QW layer emits light from the LED structure when activated.

16 . The LED structure of claim 15 , wherein the first preparation layer comprises inactive QWs and the second preparation layer comprises an aluminum-containing bottom layer.

17 . The LED structure of claim 15 , wherein the second preparation layer comprises a reflective layer.

18 . The LED structure of claim 15 , wherein the second preparation layer comprises a hole-blocking layer.

19 . A method for forming a light-emitting diode (LED) structure on a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising:

depositing at least one prep layer on the semiconductor substrate;

forming an active multiple quantum well (MQW) region on the at least one prep layer; and

depositing a p-layer on the active MQW region;

wherein forming the active MQW region includes

depositing a first barrier material,

depositing an active QW material, and

depositing a second barrier material;

wherein forming the active MQW region optionally includes

depositing a bottom layer between the first barrier material and the active QW material,

depositing an interlayer between the bottom layer and the active QW material, and

depositing a cap layer between the active QW material and the second barrier material;

wherein at least one of depositing the active QW material, depositing the bottom layer,

depositing the interlayer, and depositing the cap layer includes incorporating aluminum.