Different surface plasmon coupling behaviors of a surface Al nanoparticle between TE and TM polarizations in a deep-UV light-emitting diode

Investigation on Light Extraction Behavior of Surface Plasmon-Coupled Deep-Ultraviolet LED in Different Emission Directions

The light extraction behavior of an AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet LED covered with Al nanoparticles (NPs) is investigated by three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation. For the transmission spectra of s- and p-polarizations in different emission directions, the position of maximum transmittance can be changed from (θ = 0°, λ = 273 nm) to (θ = 0°, λ = 286 nm) by increasing the diameter of Al NPs from 40 nm to 80 nm. In the direction that is greater than the critical angle, the transmittance of s-polarization is very small due to the strong absorption of Al NPs, while the transmittance spectrum of p-polarization can be observed obviously for the 80 nm Al NPs structure. For a ~284 nm AlGaN-based LED with surface plasmon (SP) coupling, although the luminous efficiency is significantly improved due to the improvement of the radiation recombination rate as compared with the conventional LED, the light extraction efficiency (LEE) is lower than 2.61% of the conventional LED without considering the lateral surface extraction and bottom reflection. The LEE is not greater than ~0.98% (~2.12%) for an SP coupling LED with 40 nm (80 nm) Al NPs. The lower LEE can be attributed to the strong absorption of Al NPs.

Effect of quartz lens structure on the optical performances of near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

Near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (NUV-LEDs) have been a rising UV light source for identification, resin curing, ink-printing, and illumination. In pursuit of more extensive application in different fields, their optical performances are obliged to be better. In this paper, we investigated the effect of a quartz lens structure on the optical performances of NUV-LEDs. The feature size of the quartz lens was optimized by optical simulations. When the quartz lens has the optimized feature size with a height above 1.8 mm while adding a silicone layer between the chip and the lens, the NUV-LEDs achieve the highest light efficiency, and exhibit a smallest light spot and largest light energy at the center region. Furthermore, different lenses were prepared and applied in the packaging of NUV-LEDs. As a consequence, the light output power of NUV-LEDs with a silicone layer is enhanced by 20.19% at the current of 220 mA. The light output power of NUV-LEDs is enhanced by 38.66%, 43.98%, and 53.30%, respectively, by using the different quartz lenses at the current of 220 mA, and the NUV-LED achieves the highest luminous intensity by 0.098 cd and smallest output light angle by 106.0°. It is attributed to the significant refraction effect of the quartz lens, which improves the optical performances of NUV-LEDs.

Simulation study on light color conversion enhancement through surface plasmon coupling

A theoretical model together with a numerical algorithm of surface plasmon (SP) coupling are built for simulating SP-enhanced light color conversion from a shorter-wavelength radiating dipole (representing a quantum well - QW) into a longer-wavelength one (representing a quantum dot - QD) through QD absorption at the shorter wavelength. An Ag nanoparticle (NP) located between the two dipoles is designed for producing strong SP couplings simultaneously at the two wavelengths. At the QW emission wavelength, SP couplings with the QW and QD dipoles lead to the energy transfer from the QW into the QD and hence the absorption enhancement of the QD. At the QD emission wavelength, SP coupling with the excited QD dipole results in the enhancement of QD emission efficiency. The combination of the SP-induced effects at the two wavelengths leads to the increase of overall color conversion efficiency. The color conversion efficiencies in using Ag NPs of different geometries or SP resonance behaviors for producing different QD absorption and emission enhancement levels are compared.

Enhanced light extraction of deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by using optimized aluminum reflector

Deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV-LEDs) have become a promising UV light source for sterilization, disinfection, and purification. However, the challenge in practical application of DUV-LEDs still remains in their low light efficiency. In this paper, we propose an optimized aluminum (Al) reflector for the light extraction enhancement of DUV-LEDs. The optical model of DUV-LEDs was established, and the optical simulations were performed to achieve the optimized reflector. The DUV-LEDs exhibit the highest light efficiency when the reflector has the optimized feature sizes with an angle of 60°, a height of 2.0 mm, and an internal radius of 2.5 mm. Furthermore, the optimized reflector with different reflectance was fabricated and applied for the packaging of DUV-LEDs. Consequently, the light output powers of DUV-LEDs are enhanced by 28.8%, 37.0%, and 43.8%, respectively, by using the different reflectors at the driving current of 100 mA. It is attributed to the remarkable reflection effect of the Al reflector, which increases the light extraction of the sidewall emission from the DUV-LED chip.