Individually Addressable AlInGaN Micro-LED Arrays With CMOS Control and Subnanosecond Output Pulses

We report the fabrication and characterization of an ultraviolet (370 nm) emitting AlInGaN-based micro-light-emitting diode (micro-LED) array integrated with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor control electronics. This configuration allows an 8 x 8 array of micro-LED pixels, each of 72-mu m diameter, to be individually addressed. The micro-LED pixels can be driven in direct current (dc), square wave, or pulsed operation, with linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs) allowing the output of the micro-LED pixels to mimic that of an optical data transmitter. We present the optical output power versus drive current characteristics of an individual pixel, which show a micro-LED output power of up to 570 mu W in dc operation. Representative optical pulse trains demonstrating the micro-LEDs driven in square wave and LFSR modes, and controlled optical pulsewidths from 300 ps to 40 ns are also presented.