阅读说明：本技术 Led外延结构及其制备方法、led芯片及其制备方法 (LED epitaxial structure and preparation method thereof, LED chip and preparation method thereof ) 是由 李福龙 刘晓峰 赵坤 魏金栋 薛轶博 王笃祥 于 2021-08-24 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种LED外延结构及其制备方法、LED芯片及其制备方法,所述LED外延结构包括：生长衬底；电流扩展层,设置于所述生长衬底的上方,所述电流扩展层在所述生长衬底的厚度方向上依次包括第一子层和第二子层,所述第一子层的带隙高于所述第二子层的带隙；外延层,设置于所述第二子层的上方,且所述外延层在所述生长衬底的厚度方向上依次包括第一半导体层、有源层和第二半导体层。本发明的电流扩展层能够增加电流的横向扩散能力,提高LED外延结构的亮度以及抗静电能力,改善LED外延结构的正向电压,有利于器件的可靠性。(The invention discloses an LED epitaxial structure and a preparation method thereof, an LED chip and a preparation method thereof, wherein the LED epitaxial structure comprises: growing a substrate; the current spreading layer is arranged above the growth substrate and sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer; and the epitaxial layer is arranged above the second sublayer and sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate. The current spreading layer can increase the transverse diffusion capability of current, improve the brightness and the antistatic capability of the LED epitaxial structure, improve the forward voltage of the LED epitaxial structure and facilitate the reliability of devices.)

1. An LED epitaxial structure, comprising:

growing a substrate;

the current spreading layer is arranged above the growth substrate and sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

and the epitaxial layer is arranged above the second sublayer and sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate.

2. The LED epitaxial structure of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the first sublayer is less than the thickness of the second sublayer.

3. The LED epitaxial structure of claim 2, wherein the first sub-layer has a thickness of 0.5-1.5 μm and the second sub-layer has a thickness of 1.5-3 μm.

4. LED epitaxial structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the material of the current spreading layer is (Al)_XGa_1-X)_YIn_1-YP, wherein X is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and Y is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1; the first mentionedThe content of Al in the first sublayer is greater than the content of Al in the second sublayer.

5. The LED epitaxial structure of claim 4, wherein the Al content in the material of the first sub-layer is 0.5-0.7, and the Al content in the material of the second sub-layer is 0.25-0.4.

6. LED epitaxial structure according to claim 5, characterized in that the material of the first sublayer is Al_{0。 6}Ga_0.4InP, and the material of the second sublayer is Al_0.3Ga_0.7InP。

7. The LED epitaxial structure of claim 1, wherein a first diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the active layer of the epitaxial layer, and a second diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the second semiconductor layer and the active layer, wherein the first and second diffusion barrier layers are used for blocking diffusion of doping elements in the first and second semiconductor layers into the active layer, respectively.

8. The LED epitaxial structure of claim 1, wherein the LED epitaxial structure radiates red light.

9. An LED chip, comprising:

a substrate;

the epitaxial layer is positioned above the substrate and sequentially comprises a second semiconductor layer, an active layer and a first semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the substrate;

the current spreading layer is positioned above the first semiconductor layer and sequentially comprises a second sublayer and a first sublayer in the thickness direction of the substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer.

10. The LED chip of claim 9, wherein the first sub-layer is formed with a roughened structure on a side away from the substrate, and a depth of the roughened structure is less than or equal to a thickness of the first sub-layer.

11. The LED chip of claim 9, wherein a thickness of said first sublayer is less than a thickness of said second sublayer.

12. The LED chip of claim 9, wherein said current spreading layer is made of (Al)_XGa_1-X)_YIn_1-YP, wherein X is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, Y is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and the content of Al in the first sublayer is greater than that in the second sublayer.

13. The LED chip of claim 9, wherein a first diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the active layer of the epitaxial layer, and a second diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the second semiconductor layer and the active layer, and the first diffusion barrier layer and the second diffusion barrier layer are respectively configured to block diffusion of doping elements in the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer into the active layer.

14. A preparation method of an LED epitaxial structure is characterized by comprising the following steps:

providing a growth substrate;

forming a current spreading layer above the growth substrate, wherein the current spreading layer sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

and forming an epitaxial layer above the second sublayer, wherein the epitaxial layer sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate.

15. A preparation method of an LED chip is characterized by comprising the following steps:

providing a growth substrate;

forming a current spreading layer above the growth substrate, wherein the current spreading layer sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

forming an epitaxial layer above the second sublayer, wherein the epitaxial layer sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate;

and forming a substrate above the second semiconductor layer, and then removing the growth substrate.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor devices, in particular to an LED epitaxial structure and a preparation method thereof, and an LED chip and a preparation method thereof.

Background

A Light Emitting Diode (Light Emitting Diode) is a semiconductor device capable of directly converting electric energy into Light energy, and belongs to a solid-state cold Light source. The inherent physical characteristics of the LED enable the LED to work under low voltage/current, and the LED has the characteristics of high luminous efficiency, small volume, long service life, energy conservation and the like. Therefore, LEDs are now becoming the core light emitting devices in the fields of traffic displays, medical lighting, military communications, and the like. At present, with the development of technical research for many years, the technology of red light LED chips is mature day by day.

The red LED chip is generally made of AlGaInP (aluminum gallium indium phosphide) quaternary material, and the epitaxial technology of the red LED is mainly the epitaxial growth of AlGaInP material on a GaAs substrate. Because the lattice matching degree between AlGaInP and GaAs is better, dislocation generated in the epitaxial growth process is less, and the quantum efficiency inside the AlGaInP material exceeds 95 percent. However, the current crowding effect is easily generated due to poor lateral current spreading of the current epitaxy structure, which not only restricts the utilization rate of the light-emitting area, but also causes the local temperature of the chip to rise, and accelerates the aging speed of the chip.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide an LED epitaxial structure and a method for fabricating the same, an LED chip and a method for fabricating the same, so as to improve the problem of poor lateral current spreading.

To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention provides an LED epitaxial structure, including:

growing a substrate;

the current expansion layer is arranged above the growth substrate and sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

and the epitaxial layer is arranged above the second sublayer and sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate.

Optionally, the thickness of the first sub-layer is smaller than the thickness of the second sub-layer.

Optionally, the first sub-layer has a thickness of 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm and the second sub-layer has a thickness of 1.5 μm to 3 μm.

Optionally, the material of the current spreading layer is (Al)_XGa_1-X)_YIn_1-YP, wherein X is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and Y is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1; the Al content in the first sublayer is greater than the Al content in the second sublayer.

Optionally, the content of Al in the material of the first sub-layer is 0.5-0.7, and the content of Al in the material of the second sub-layer is 0.25-0.4.

Optionally, the material of the first sub-layer is Al_0.6Ga_0.4InP, the material of the second sublayer is Al_0.3Ga_0.7InP。

Optionally, a first diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the active layer of the epitaxial layer, a second diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the second semiconductor layer and the active layer, and the first diffusion barrier layer and the second diffusion barrier layer are respectively used for blocking doping elements in the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer from diffusing into the active layer.

Optionally, the LED epitaxial structure radiates red light.

The present invention also provides an LED chip comprising:

a substrate;

the epitaxial layer is positioned above the substrate and sequentially comprises a second semiconductor layer, an active layer and a first semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the substrate;

and the current spreading layer is positioned above the first semiconductor layer and sequentially comprises a second sublayer and a first sublayer in the thickness direction of the substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer.

Optionally, the first sub-layer is formed with a roughened structure on a side away from the substrate, and a depth of the roughened structure is less than or equal to a thickness of the first sub-layer.

Optionally, the thickness of the first sub-layer is smaller than the thickness of the second sub-layer.

Optionally, the material of the current spreading layer is (Al)_XGa_1-X)_YIn_1-YP, wherein X is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, Y is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and the content of Al in the first sublayer is greater than that in the second sublayer.

Optionally, a first diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the active layer of the epitaxial layer, a second diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the second semiconductor layer and the active layer, and the first diffusion barrier layer and the second diffusion barrier layer are respectively used for blocking doping elements in the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer from diffusing into the active layer.

The invention also provides a preparation method of the LED epitaxial structure, which comprises the following steps:

providing a growth substrate;

forming a current expansion layer above the first surface of the growth substrate, wherein the current expansion layer sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

and forming an epitaxial layer above the second sublayer, wherein the epitaxial layer sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate.

The invention also provides a preparation method of the LED chip, which comprises the following steps:

providing a growth substrate;

forming a current expansion layer above the growth substrate, wherein the current expansion layer sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

forming an epitaxial layer above the second sublayer, wherein the epitaxial layer sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate;

a substrate is formed over the second semiconductor layer, and then the growth substrate is removed.

Compared with the prior art, the LED epitaxial structure and the preparation method thereof, and the LED chip and the preparation method thereof have the following beneficial effects:

according to the LED epitaxial structure, the current expansion layer is arranged between the growth substrate and the epitaxial layer and comprises the first sublayer and the second sublayer, wherein the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer, and due to the arrangement of high and low potential barrier differences in the current expansion layer, the transverse diffusion capability of current can be increased, the brightness and the antistatic capability of the LED epitaxial structure are improved, the forward voltage of the LED epitaxial structure is improved, and the reliability of a device is facilitated.

Furthermore, in the epitaxial layer of the LED epitaxial structure of the present invention, the first diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the active layer, the second diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the second semiconductor layer and the active layer, and the first diffusion barrier layer and the second diffusion barrier layer are respectively used for blocking doping elements in the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer from diffusing into the active layer, so as to prevent the light emitting effect of the active layer from being affected and further improve the brightness of the LED epitaxial structure.

The preparation method of the LED epitaxial structure, the LED chip and the preparation method of the LED epitaxial structure comprise the LED epitaxial structure, and the effects can be achieved. In addition, due to the arrangement of the current expansion layer in the epitaxial structure, the LED chip does not need to be provided with a metal expansion strip to improve the current expansibility, so that the absorption of the metal expansion strip on light emitted by the epitaxial layer is avoided, and the light emitting efficiency of the LED chip is further improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an LED epitaxial structure according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an LED chip according to embodiment 2 of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the LED chip in embodiment 2 of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing an LED epitaxial structure according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing an LED chip according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.

List of reference numerals:

100 growth substrate

101 first buffer layer

102 etching the sacrificial layer

200 current spreading layer

201 first sublayer

202 second sub-layer

300 epitaxial layer

301 first semiconductor layer

302 first diffusion barrier layer

303 active layer

304 second diffusion barrier layer

305 second semiconductor layer

400 second buffer layer

500 GaP layer

600 base plate

701 first electrode

702 second electrode

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention is provided for illustrative purposes, and other advantages and effects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways, and its several details are capable of modification in various respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. It is to be noted that the features in the following embodiments and examples may be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be understood that the drawings provided in the embodiments of the present invention are only for illustrating the basic idea of the present invention, and although the drawings only show the components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the number, shape and size of the components in actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of the components in actual implementation can be changed freely, and the layout of the components can be more complicated. The structures, proportions, and dimensions shown in the drawings and described in the specification are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined by the claims, but rather by the claims, the drawings and the appended claims are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Example 1

The present embodiment provides an LED epitaxial structure, and referring to fig. 1, the LED epitaxial structure includes: a growth substrate 100; the current spreading layer 200 is arranged above the growth substrate 100, the current spreading layer 200 sequentially comprises a first sublayer 201 and a second sublayer 202 in the thickness direction of the growth substrate 100, and the band gap of the first sublayer 201 is higher than that of the second sublayer 202; and an epitaxial layer 300 disposed above the second sub-layer 202, wherein the epitaxial layer 300 includes a first semiconductor layer 301, an active layer 303, and a second semiconductor layer 305 in this order in a thickness direction of the growth substrate 100. The current spreading layer 200 in the invention includes a first sub-layer 201 and a second sub-layer 202, the bandgap of the first sub-layer 201 is higher than the bandgap of the second sub-layer 202, and the setting of the bandgap is capable of forcing the current to increase the lateral current spreading capability in the current spreading layer 200, which is helpful for improving the brightness of the LED epitaxial structure and improving the antistatic capability and forward voltage of the LED epitaxial structure.

Specifically, referring to fig. 1, the material of the growth substrate 100 includes, but is not limited to, GaAs, and the GaAs growth substrate 100 is taken as an example in the present embodiment.

The current spreading layer 200 is disposed over the growth substrate 100. Optionally, a first buffer layer 101 and an etching sacrificial layer 102 are further disposed between the growth substrate 100 and the current spreading layer 200; the first buffer layer 101 is used to eliminate the influence of lattice defects of the growth substrate 100 on the epitaxial layer 300. The sacrificial layer 102 is etched for a stop layer for subsequent chemical etching. Optionally, the etching sacrificial layer 102 is an N-type etching sacrificial layer 102, and the material is N-GaInP. The material of the current spreading layer 200 is (Al)_XGa_1-X)_YIn_1-YP, wherein 0. ltoreq. X.ltoreq.1, 0. ltoreq. Y.ltoreq.1, generally, thicknessBetween 2 and 4 μm. The current spreading layer 200 comprises a first sub-layer 201 and a second sub-layer 202, the bandgap of the first sub-layer 201 is higher than that of the second sub-layer 202, and as the current diffuses slowly in the first sub-layer 201, when the current is conducted into the second sub-layer 202, the current is forced to spread laterally by the difference of the high and low bandgaps, so that the effects of improving the brightness of the LED and improving the antistatic performance are achieved. Optionally, the content of Al in the first sublayer 201 is greater than the content of Al in the second sublayer 202; in order to prevent the current spreading layer from being easily oxidized and easily absorbing light, the Al content in the material of the first sub-layer 201 is 0.5-0.7, and the Al content in the material of the second sub-layer 202 is 0.25-0.4. In this embodiment, the material of the first sub-layer 201 is Al_0.6Ga_0.4InP, the material of the second sub-layer 202 is Al_0.3Ga_0.7And InP. Optionally, the thickness of the first sub-layer 201 is smaller than that of the second sub-layer 202, which can ensure that the forward voltage is properly reduced and the brightness of the LED epitaxial structure is improved. Alternatively, the first sub-layer 201 has a thickness of 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm and the second sub-layer 202 has a thickness of 1.5 μm to 3 μm. The thickness range and the component proportion of the second sublayer can avoid light absorption of the current expansion layer to a large extent, and high LED brightness and good forward voltage are achieved. In this embodiment, the thickness of the first sub-layer 201 is 1.5 μm and the thickness of the second sub-layer 202 is 2 μm.

An epitaxial layer 300 is disposed over the current spreading layer 200, and the epitaxial layer 300 includes a first semiconductor layer 301, an active layer 303, and a second semiconductor layer 305 in this order. In this embodiment, the first semiconductor layer 301 is an N-type confinement layer made of N-AlInP, which can provide electrons for composite luminescence; the second semiconductor layer 305 is a P-type confinement layer made of P-AlInP, which provides holes for recombination light emission. The active layer 303 is a single quantum well or a multiple quantum well, and AlGaInP is a material composition that can emit light by recombination of electrons and holes. In addition, since the first semiconductor layer 301 is also a high bandgap layer and forms a high-low barrier form with the first sub-layer 201 and the second sub-layer 202, the current spreading capability can be further increased, and the LED luminance and the antistatic performance can be improved.

In an alternative embodiment, a first diffusion barrier layer 302 is disposed between the first semiconductor layer 301 and the active layer 303 of the epitaxial layer 300, a second diffusion barrier layer 304 is disposed between the second semiconductor layer 305 and the active layer 303, and the first diffusion barrier layer 302 and the second diffusion barrier layer 304 are respectively used for blocking doping elements in the first semiconductor layer 301 and the second semiconductor layer from diffusing into the active layer 303. Alternatively, the constituent materials of the first diffusion barrier layer 302 and the second diffusion barrier layer 304 are the same as those of the first semiconductor layer 301 and the second semiconductor layer 305, respectively.

Optionally, a GaP layer 500 is further disposed above the second semiconductor layer 305 of the epitaxial layer 300, and the GaP layer 500 is used for current spreading. Optionally, a second buffer layer 400 is further disposed between the GaP layer 500 and the second semiconductor layer 305, and the second buffer layer 400 is used to eliminate the lattice constant difference between the GaP layer 500 and the second semiconductor layer 305, so as to perform an excessive junction function.

According to the LED epitaxial structure, through the arrangement of the potential barrier difference between the first sublayer and the second sublayer in the current expansion layer, the current expansion is increased, the forward voltage is improved, and the brightness and the antistatic performance of the LED epitaxial structure are improved.

Example 2

The present embodiment provides an LED chip including a substrate 600; an epitaxial layer 300 located above the substrate 600, the epitaxial layer 300 including a second semiconductor layer 305, an active layer 303, and a first semiconductor layer 301 in this order in a thickness direction of the substrate 600; the current spreading layer 200 is located above the first semiconductor layer 301, the current spreading layer 200 sequentially includes a second sub-layer 202 and a first sub-layer 201 in a thickness direction of the substrate 600, and a bandgap of the first sub-layer 201 is higher than a bandgap of the second sub-layer 202.

Specifically, referring to fig. 2, a substrate 600 has a first surface and a second surface disposed opposite to each other, an epitaxial layer 300 is formed on the first surface of the substrate 600, and the substrate 600 may be a SiC substrate, a Ge substrate, a sapphire substrate, or the like. When the second electrode 702 is formed on the second surface of the base substrate 600, the base substrate 600 is a conductive substrate. In the present embodiment, a GaP layer 500 is disposed between the substrate 600 and the epitaxial layer 300.

An epitaxial layer 300 is disposed over the GaP layer 500. Optionally, in order to eliminate the lattice constant difference between the epitaxial layer 300 and the GaP layer 500, a second buffer layer 400 is also generally disposed between the GaP layer 500 and the epitaxial layer 300. The epitaxial layer 300 includes a second semiconductor layer 305, an active layer 303, and a first semiconductor layer 301 in this order. In this embodiment, the second semiconductor layer 305, the active layer 303 and the first semiconductor layer 301 in the epitaxial layer 300 are the same as those in embodiment 1, and are not described in detail here.

A current spreading layer 200 is disposed above the epitaxial layer 300, and the current spreading layer 200 includes a second sublayer 202 and a first sublayer 201 in this order. In this embodiment, the first sub-layer 201 and the second sub-layer 202 in the current spreading layer 200 are the same as those in embodiment 1, and are not described in detail here.

A first electrode 701 is further formed on the surface of the first sublayer 201, a roughened structure is formed on the first sublayer 201 on the side away from the substrate 600, the roughened structure is formed on the surface except the contact surface between the first sublayer 201 and the first electrode 701, and the depth of the roughened structure is less than or equal to the thickness of the first sublayer 201. The surface of the first sub-layer with the higher barrier is roughened, so that the roughening effect of the LED chip is facilitated, meanwhile, the first sub-layer 201 is set to be 0.5-1.5 microns, a roughened structure with the roughening depth of 0.5-1.5 microns is obtained, and the roughened structure is more beneficial to the light emitting effect of the LED.

A second electrode 702 is also formed on the second surface of the substrate 600, and at this time, the chip is formed in a vertical type structure, refer to fig. 2. In an alternative embodiment, a step structure exposing the GaP layer 500 is etched on the epitaxial layer 300, and a second electrode 702 is formed on the GaP layer 500 exposed on the step structure, at which time, the chip is formed in a horizontal type structure, referring to fig. 3.

The LED chip described in this embodiment includes the LED epitaxial structure in embodiment 1, and can improve the forward voltage and improve the brightness and the antistatic performance of the LED epitaxial structure while increasing the current spreading. In addition, the arrangement of the high-low barrier layers in the embodiment can increase the transverse expansion of current, so that a metal expansion strip does not need to be formed between the electrode and the current expansion layer, the absorption of the metal expansion strip on light is avoided, the luminous efficiency is improved, and meanwhile, the manufacturing process and the cost are saved. By adopting the embodiment to test the LED chip, the brightness of the LED chip can be improved by 10%, the forward voltage is reduced by 5%, and the antistatic capability is improved by 20%.

Example 3

The embodiment provides a method for preparing an LED epitaxial structure, and refer to fig. 4. The method comprises the following specific steps:

s101: providing a growth substrate;

specifically, referring also to fig. 1, a growth substrate 100 is provided, the growth substrate having a first surface and a second surface arranged oppositely, the material of the growth substrate 100 includes, but is not limited to, GaAs, and the GaAs growth substrate 100 is taken as an example in the present embodiment.

The first buffer layer 101 and the etching sacrificial layer 102 are sequentially formed on the first surface of the growth substrate 100, and may be sequentially deposited by a chemical vapor deposition method. The etching sacrificial layer 102 is an N-type etching sacrificial layer 102 made of N-GaInP.

S102: forming a current expansion layer above the growth substrate, wherein the current expansion layer sequentially comprises a first sublayer and a second sublayer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate, and the band gap of the first sublayer is higher than that of the second sublayer;

specifically, referring to fig. 1, a current spreading layer 200 is formed over an etching sacrificial layer 102 of a growth substrate 100, specifically, a first sub-layer 201 is first deposited on the etching sacrificial layer 102, and then a second sub-layer 202 is deposited on the first sub-layer 201.

S103: and forming an epitaxial layer above the second sublayer, wherein the epitaxial layer sequentially comprises a first semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second semiconductor layer in the thickness direction of the growth substrate.

Specifically, referring to fig. 1, an epitaxial layer 300 is formed on a surface of the second sub-layer 202 using a chemical vapor deposition method, and the epitaxial layer 300 sequentially forms a first semiconductor layer 301, an active layer 303, and a second semiconductor layer 305. In an alternative embodiment, forming epitaxial layer 300 comprises: a first semiconductor layer 301, a first diffusion barrier layer 302, an active layer 303, a second diffusion barrier layer 304 and a second semiconductor layer 305 are deposited in sequence on the surface of the second sub-layer 202.

After the epitaxial layer 300 is formed, a second buffer layer 400 and a GaP layer 500 are sequentially deposited on the surface of the second semiconductor layer 305 of the epitaxial layer 300, resulting in the epitaxial structure shown in fig. 1.

According to the preparation method of the LED epitaxial structure, through the arrangement of the potential barrier difference between the first sublayer and the second sublayer, the current expansion is increased, the forward voltage is improved, and the brightness and the antistatic performance of the LED epitaxial structure are improved.

Example 4

This embodiment also provides a method for manufacturing an LED chip, and referring to fig. 5, the steps include, in addition to steps S101 to S103 in embodiment 3 above, the following steps:

s104: a substrate is formed over the second semiconductor layer, and then the growth substrate is removed.

Specifically, referring to fig. 2 or 3, a metal bonding layer (not shown) is formed on the GaP layer 500 and bonded onto the first surface of the substrate 600.

The growth substrate 100 is thinned by adopting a mechanical grinding mode, the growth substrate 100 and the first buffer layer 101 are removed by adopting a wet etching mode, etching is stopped at the etching sacrificial layer 102, the etching sacrificial layer 102 is removed by adopting a wet etching method, and the first sublayer 201 is exposed.

The first electrode 701 is formed on a part of the surface of the first sublayer 201. In this embodiment, the first electrode 701 is an N electrode. After the first electrode 701 is formed, the surface of the exposed first sub-layer 201 is patterned, so that a roughened structure is formed on the surface of the exposed first sub-layer 201, and the depth of the roughened structure is less than or equal to the thickness of the first sub-layer 201. Since the content of Al in the first sublayer 201 is high, the roughening effect can be ensured.

A second electrode 702 is formed on the second surface of the substrate 600, and the second electrode 702 is a P-electrode, forming a vertical chip structure, as shown in fig. 2. In an alternative embodiment, a step structure is etched on the epitaxial layer 300, the step structure exposes the GaP layer 500, and a second electrode 702 is formed on the GaP layer 500 exposed on the step structure, forming a horizontal type chip structure, as shown in fig. 3.

The method for manufacturing the LED chip according to this embodiment includes the LED epitaxial structure in embodiment 1, and can improve the forward voltage and improve the brightness and the antistatic performance of the LED epitaxial structure while increasing the current spreading. In addition, the arrangement of the high-low barrier layers in the embodiment can increase the transverse expansion of current, so that a metal expansion strip does not need to be formed between the electrode and the current expansion layer, the absorption of the metal expansion strip on light is avoided, the luminous efficiency is improved, and meanwhile, the manufacturing process and the cost are saved.

In summary, in the LED epitaxial structure according to the present invention, the current spreading layer is disposed between the growth substrate and the epitaxial layer, and includes the first sub-layer and the second sub-layer, where a band gap of the first sub-layer is higher than a band gap of the second sub-layer, and due to the arrangement of the high-low barrier difference in the current spreading layer, the lateral diffusion capability of current can be increased, the brightness and the antistatic capability of the LED epitaxial structure can be improved, the forward voltage of the LED epitaxial structure can be improved, and the reliability of the device can be facilitated.

Furthermore, in the epitaxial layer of the LED epitaxial structure of the present invention, a first diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the active layer, a second diffusion barrier layer is disposed between the second semiconductor layer and the active layer, and the first diffusion barrier layer and the second diffusion barrier layer are respectively used for blocking doping elements in the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer from diffusing into the active layer, so as to prevent the light emitting effect of the active layer from being affected and further improve the brightness of the LED epitaxial structure.

The preparation method of the LED epitaxial structure, the LED chip and the preparation method of the LED epitaxial structure comprise the LED epitaxial structure, and the effects can be achieved. In addition, due to the arrangement of the current expansion layer in the epitaxial structure, the LED chip does not need to be provided with a metal expansion strip to improve the current expansibility, so that the absorption of the metal expansion strip on light emitted by the epitaxial layer is avoided, and the luminous efficiency of the LED chip is further improved.

The foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and utilities of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications or changes which can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical spirit of the present invention be covered by the claims of the present invention.