Prospects for 100% wall-plug efficient III-nitride LEDs.

The possibility of a III-nitride LED with 100% or greater wall-plug efficiency is examined considering recent observations of the phenomenon for smaller bandgap mid-IR LEDs under extremely low-bias operation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 1 (2012)]. Thermoelectric pumping of carriers by lattice heat enables ≥ 100% WPE, but this effect is relatively weaker for the wider band gap III-nitrides. This work assesses the electrical and optical performance of several state-of-the-art nitride devices and summarizes the requirements and prospects for approaching ≥ 100% WPE for III-nitride LEDs operating at technologically relevant current densities (> 1 A/cm2).