Abstract

We have developed a rigorous scattering matrix theory of light emission from periodically structured media using a Green’s function approach. We computationally simulate the spectral power inside the structure, incorporating Purcell factor enhancements, and find internal waveguiding modes and plasmonic losses. We simulate the light-outcoupling factor ${\eta _{\text{out}}}$ and describe how corrugations and structured media can enhance ${\eta _{\text{out}}}$. We have extended our framework to describe non-periodic disordered arrays as well as aperiodic quasi-crystalline arrays. Flat organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have low outcoupling with ${\eta _{\text{out}}} \sim{20}\%$ since most of the light is trapped in waveguided modes in higher index layers or lost to plasmonic excitations at the metal cathode. Periodically corrugated OLEDs can achieve highly enhanced ${\eta _{\text{out}}} \sim {65}\% {-} {70}\%$ for pitch values between 1000 and 2000 nm, representing an enhancement factor $ \gt {3}$ over planar structures. Periodic corrugations strongly diffract trapped waveguided and plasmonic modes to the emissive air cone. Disordered templates also can cause significant enhanced outcoupling with ${\eta _{\text{out}}} \sim {50}\% {-} {55}\%$ for smaller nearest-neighbor separations of 300–400 nm. Quasi-crystalline tilings can also lead to enhancements of ${\eta _{\text{out}}} \sim {50}\% {-} {55}\%$. This framework can be utilized to design novel structured media that can generate high light extraction.

© 2021 Optical Society of America

Design and fabrication of hybrid MLAs/gratings for the enhancement of light extraction efficiency and distribution uniformity of OLEDs

Guixiong Chen, Yalian Weng, Xiaocong Lai, Wenwen Wang, Xiongtu Zhou, Qun Yan, Tailiang Guo, Yongai Zhang, and Chaoxing Wu
Opt. Express 29(16) 25812-25823 (2021)

Effects of electron transport layer thickness on light extraction in corrugated OLEDs

Bo-Yen Lin, Yi-Ru Li, Chia-Hsuan Chen, Hao-Chun Hsu, Mao-Kuo Wei, Jiun-Haw Lee, and Tien-Lung Chiu
Opt. Express 30(11) 18066-18078 (2022)

Enhanced light extraction from organic light-emitting diodes by reducing plasmonic loss through graded photonic super-crystals

Khadijah Alnasser, Safaa Hassan, Steve Kamau, Hualiang Zhang, and Yuankun Lin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 37(5) 1283-1289 (2020)

Fast and rigorous optical simulation of periodically corrugated light-emitting diodes based on a diffraction matrix method

Chanhyung Park, Jeongmin Shin, Sanmun Kim, Songju Lee, Juho Park, Jaehyeok Park, Sehong Park, Seunghyup Yoo, and Min Seok Jang
Opt. Express 31(12) 20410-20423 (2023)

Enhanced light extraction efficiency of OLEDs with quasiperiodic diffraction grating layer

Tae-Bin Lim, Kwan Hyun Cho, Yong-Hoon Kim, and Yong-Cheol Jeong
Opt. Express 24(16) 17950-17959 (2016)