As demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV) light sources (200–280 nm), such as AlGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) show excellence in preventing virus transmission, which further reveals their wide applications from biological, environmental, industrial to medical. However, the relatively low external quantum efficiencies (mostly lower than 10%) strongly restrict their wider or even potential applications, which have been known related to the intrinsic properties of high Al-content AlGaN semiconductor materials and especially their quantum structures. Here, we review recent progress in the development of novel concepts and techniques in AlGaN-based LEDs and summarize the multiple physical fields as a toolkit for effectively controlling and tailoring the crucial properties of nitride quantum structures. In addition, we describe the key challenges for further increasing the efficiency of DUV LEDs and provide an outlook for future developments.

正如 COVID-19 大流行期间所证明的那样，先进的深紫外 (DUV) 光源（200–280 nm），例如基于 AlGaN 的发光二极管 (LED) 在防止病毒传播方面表现出卓越的性能，这进一步揭示了它们的广泛应用生物、环境、工业到医疗。然而，相对较低的外量子效率（大多低于10%）严重限制了其更广泛甚至潜在的应用，这与高Al含量AlGaN半导体材料的本征特性尤其是其量子结构有关。在这里，我们回顾了基于 AlGaN 的 LED 的新颖概念和技术的最新进展，并总结了多个物理场作为有效控制和定制氮化物量子结构关键特性的工具包。此外，我们还描述了进一步提高 DUV LED 效率的关键挑战，并展望了未来的发展。