Enhancing surface plasmon leakage at the metal/semiconductor interface: towards increased light outcoupling...

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) suffer from low light outcoupling efficiency.
• This limitation is primarily due to surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited at metal electrodes, which trap optical energy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically investigate methods for improving light outcoupling efficiency in OLEDs.
• To explore the role of metal film thickness and gain in managing SPP modes.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of an organic semiconductor-silver-SiO(2) waveguide.
• Analysis of surface plasmon polariton mode amplitude and leakage into the semiconductor layer.
• Simulation of optical energy transfer under varying metal film thicknesses and emission regimes.

Main Results:

• A significant fraction of SPP mode amplitude can be leaked into the active semiconductor layer.
• Tuning metal film thickness increases mode leakage by up to 3.8 times at visible wavelengths.
• Introducing gain further enhances mode leakage by a factor of 88.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing metal film thickness and utilizing gain are effective strategies to mitigate optical energy trapping by SPPs.
• This approach significantly enhances light outcoupling efficiency in OLEDs.
• The findings offer a pathway to more efficient organic optoelectronic devices.