Abstract
The effects of localized surface plasmons (LSPs) on the enhancement of photoluminescence and electroluminescence efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) structures are reviewed. It is shown that the LSPs formed by metal nanoparticles (NPs) or by local thickness variations of the metal films can contribute to the enhancement of light emitted by LED structures under optical or electrical excitation. The problems of choosing a suitable metal for such LSPs in the given spectral range are discussed. Various approaches to incorporating the LSP NP films into the LED structures are analyzed. The issues specific to different spectral ranges (blue, green, UV) are described. The wavelength range for which the application of LSP particles can be useful depends on the metal used, the shape and dimensions of the particles, and on their density and distribution. Roughly, as a first order approximation, it is concluded that Ag is in general the best material for the blue spectral region, Au is best for the green region, and Al is most suitable for the UV region. It is demonstrated that core/shell Ag/SiO2 NPs for the blue region have serious advantages in terms of stability over Ag NPs. For blue LEDs it is found that the most important factor is the suppression of the efficiency droop with increasing LED output power. For green and UV regions the most important factor is the strong influence of the non-radiative recombination channels. In addition, for the UV LEDs the increased light extraction efficiency is also an important issue. It is shown how LSP NPs can provide efficient means to combat these problems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 140-173 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| Journal | Nano Energy |
| Volume | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 Apr 1 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:In-Hwan Lee received his Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from Korea University, Korea, in 1997. During 1997–1999, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Northwestern University. He joined Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, where he led an epitaxial team and developed InGaN/GaN violet LDs. Since 2002, he has been a faculty member in the School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Korea. With the sabbatical grant from LG foundation, he was at Yale University during 2008–2009. His current research focuses on the development of nanotechnology-inspired novel optoelectronic devices including LEDs, photovoltaic devices, and sensors. He has authored or coauthored over 180 peer-reviewed research articles in major scientific journals, and presented over 50 invited seminars and talks around the world, and holds over 20 patents at various stages of the process.
Funding Information:
I.-H Lee would like to acknowledge financial support from National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning ( 2013R1A2A2A07067688 and 2010–0019626 ). AYP gratefully acknowledges the support by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in the framework of Increase Competitiveness Program of NUST «MISiS» (No. К2-2014-055 ). We would also like to thank our many years of collaborators in the field, Dr. Jong-Hyeob Baek (KOPTI, Gwanju, Korea), Prof Jin-Kyu Yang (Kongju National University, Chonan, Korea), and Dr. Nikolay B. Smirnov (Institute of Rare Metals, Moscow, Russia). The authors would like to thank Prof. Min-Ki Kwon at Chosun University for having read the manuscript and for helpful discussions and suggestions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords
- External quantum efficiency
- Light emitting diodes
- Localized surface plasmons
- Metal nanoparticles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- General Materials Science
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
