ABSTRACT

Recently,theGroup-IIInitridebasedsemiconductorshaveemergedastheleading materialfortheproductionofblueLEDsandbluelaserdiodes.Naturehasblessed the(lflxGa1.x)yA11.yNalloysystemwithacontinuousanddirectbandgap semiconductoralloyspanningultraviolettoblue/green/yellowwavelengths.Aswe willlearninthischapterthedirectbandgapsemiconductorisperhapsthemost efficientmeanstogeneratelightfromelectricity.Thepurposeofthischapteristo reviewthebasicphysicsofLEDs,materialsselection,epitaxialgrowth,and describethehistoricalevolutionoftechnologiesemployedinthemanufacturingof LEDsandlaserdiodes.