Light emtting diode (LED) strucutres fabricated from GaN-based material grown from along the polar c-axis posses a large polarization field within the active quantum well that hampers the efficiency of the device. This internal electric field separates the electrons and holes, which reduces the recombination rate in the quantum well (QW). To improve the light emission efficiency, we fabricated QW-LEDs from GaN-based material grown in the non-polar a-plane on r-plane sapphire. Implementing this approach to enhance the internal quantum efficiency on commerically available 2-inch r-plane sapphire required the development of a medium temperature AlN/GaN buffer layer scheme. Not only improved internal efficiency but also improved external efficiency is required to achieve high brightness LEDs. To date, the only widely applied technique to enhance the extraction of light from commercial polar GaN LEDs is to roughen the surface by dry or wet etching. We developed a photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching approach for the a-plane non-polar GaN LED. The samples were dipped into the KOH solution and exposed to UV light generated from a mercury lamp. A detailed invetigation was conducted into the effect KOH concentration as well as the intenisty of UV exposure on the etch rate and morphology of the surface. The PEC etching of the assymertic bond structure along the [0001] and [1-100] directions generated the elongated dimples and roof-shape pillars. The denisty of the pillars and the width of the dimples increased with increased etching time. The dimples and pillars (surface texturing) on the surface provides an ensemble of angles for light to escape that is normally trapped within the crystal. Photoluminescence measurements were conducted to investigate the relationship between extration efficiency and surface texturing by this PEC etching technique.