Decoding the Crucial Role of Auger-Meitner Effect in Electron Energy Loss

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have uncovered the role of the Auger-Meitner effect in explaining the efficiency loss in blue or ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) caused by defects or impurities. The Auger-Meitner effect allows an electron to transfer its energy to another electron, resulting in a higher-energy state. The researchers developed a methodology that conclusively established the crucial role of the Auger-Meitner process, showing trap-assisted recombination rates in gallium nitride LEDs that were more than a billion times greater than previously considered. This understanding could help improve the efficiency of semiconductor light emitters and other wide-band-gap materials affected by defects.