Light-emitting diodes with nickel substrates fabricated by electroplating^a)

AlGalnP light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with electroplated nickel substrate have been successfully fabricated. The AlGalnP LEDs were initially grown on a GaAs temporary substrate. After removing or thinning the GaAs substrate and coating a $Au∕Ge$ layer, a $60μm$ thick nickel layer was electroplated on the $Au∕Ge$ surface serving as the substrate. The results show that the electroplated nickel substrate is effective in the thermal dissipation capability and reflectivity. As compared to LEDs with a GaAs substrate, an increase in the light output by up to 88% has been obtained. Additionally, the proposed method is so reliable that light output degradation was less than 10% after $1500h$ operation at $60°C$ and $50mA$⁠.