A GaN-based vertical light-emitting diode (VLED) with a novel structure, consisting of a buried current blocking layer (BCBL) inserted in p-type GaN and non-alloyed reflective n-type electrodes (Cr/Al/Pt/Au) on N-face n-GaN, is proposed and its enhanced light extraction efficiency is demonstrated. It was found that this new VLED structure could significantly increase the light output power by about 16% compared to that of the conventional VLED chips with n-type Cr/Au electrodes and without the BCBL, although the use of the BCBL slightly increased the forward voltage. The increase in the light output power was attributed to the injection of a large current density within the emission region of the active layers by the BCBL and, thus, the reduction of the optical absorption beneath the n-pad electrodes by the Cr/Al/Pt/Au metals. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3610345] All rights reserved.