Graphene-enhanced flexible GaN LEDs show 35% increase in electroluminescence

Researchers at Korea’s Kumoh National Institute of Technology and Yeungnam University have developed a flexible GaN light-emitting diode (LED) that integrates chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene as a transparent current-spreading (TCS) layer on a carbon-supported polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The device, fabricated using a 2-inch wafer-scale laser lift-off (LLO) process, addresses key limitations of conventional rigid inorganic optoelectronics while maintaining high performance.

The introduction of graphene as the TCS layer plays a central role in improving device efficiency. Compared with a reference flexible GaN LED without graphene, the graphene-integrated device exhibits a 35% increase in electroluminescence intensity at an injection current of 50 mA. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements further confirm enhanced optical performance: the graphene-based LED shows increased PL peak intensity along with a blue shift in peak wavelength, indicating higher output power. In contrast, the reference device exhibits reduced PL intensity and a red shift, consistent with lower emission efficiency.

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