Higher Light Extraction Efficiency in Organic Light-Emitting Devices by Employing 2D Periodic Corrugation

Photons trapped in the form of waveguide (WG) modes associated with the organic-organic interface and in the form of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes associated with the metallic electrode-organic interface result in a large energy loss in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Introducing gratings onto the metallic electrode is especially crucial for recovering the power lost to the associated SPP modes. In our research, we demonstrate the efficient outcoupling of SPP modes in TE mode by two-dimensional (2D) grating, which cannot excited in one-dimensional (1D) grating OLED. This causes a 62.5% increase in efficiency from 2D grating OLED than 1D grating OLED. The efficient outcoupling of the WG and SPP modes is verified by the numerical simulation of both the emission spectra and the field distribution.

Automated summary

The energy loss in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) is mainly caused by the photons trapped in the waveguide modes associated with the organic-organic interface and the surface plasmon polariton modes associated with the metallic electrode-organic interface. Introducing gratings onto the metallic electrode is crucial for recovering the energy lost to the surface plasmon polariton modes. In this research, efficient outcoupling of the surface plasmon polariton modes in TE mode is demonstrated using a two-dimensional grating, resulting in a 62.5% increase in efficiency compared to a one-dimensional grating OLED. The efficient outcoupling of both the waveguide and surface plasmon polariton modes is verified through numerical simulation of the emission spectra and the field distribution.