We investigated the effect of a combined AlN/Al0.03Ga0.97N barrier on InGaN-based amber light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. InGaN-based multiple quantum wells with a combined AlN/Al0.03Ga0.97N barrier showed intense photoluminescence with a narrow full-width at half maximum. The amber LEDs with a combined AlN/Al0.03Ga0.97N barrier achieved a light output power enhanced approximately 2.5-fold at 20 mA compared to that of the LED with a combined AlN/GaN barrier, owing to the reduction of defects in InGaN active layers. Thus, the efficiency of high-In-content InGaN-based LEDs can be improved in the spectrum range of amber. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.