Separation of Thin GaN from Sapphire by Laser Lift-Off Technique

Abstract

Laser lift-off of GaN from sapphire substrates has become a viable technique to increase the brightness of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs free from sapphire exhibit high luminous efficiency by placing highly reflective electrode on the back side. The devices serve low series resistance together with low thermal resistance taking advantages of the vertical structure. Thinner epitaxial structure is desired to serve better device performance, however, cracks in the film after the lift-off limits the minimum thickness. In this paper, successful laser lift-off of very thin GaN with the thickness down to 4 µm is described. The established laser lift-off system utilizes homogenized beam-profile of the employed neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) third harmonic laser in which optimization of the laser fluence minimizes the thickness of the decomposed GaN. It is also revealed by calculation that the compressive stress in the thin GaN is increased by reducing the thickness. It is demonstrated that the lattice of the GaN is relaxed after the laser lift-off, which is confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. In addition, reduction of the wafer bowing of GaN on sapphire is experimentally confirmed after the laser irradiation with the formation of metal Ga in between the interface.