The characteristics of the GaN-based vertical light emitting diodes on metal alloyed substrate (VLEDMS) were investigated. The VLEDMS exhibits very good current-voltage behaviour with low serial dynamic resistance of 0.7 Omega and low operated voltage of 3.2 V at 350 mA. High current operation up to 3 A in continuous mode was demonstrated without any performance deterioration. The high thermal conductivity of metal alloyed substrate exhibits excellent heat dissipation capability. Chip scaling without efficiency loss shows a unique property of VLEDMS. A light output efficiency of 70 lumens/W or better was achieved in single chip or multiple chips package. Coupled with good reliability and mass production ability, VLEDMS is very suitable for general lighting application. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.