Enhanced Optical Output of Near-Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes by a Monolayer of Nanospheres

Abstract

The optical output of near-ultraviolet (NUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was improved by including a monolayer of hexagonal close-packed polystyrene (PS) nanospheres. PS nanospheres with different sizes were deposited on the indium tin oxide layer of the NUV LEDs. The electroluminescence results showed that the light extraction efficiency of the NUV LEDs was increased by the inclusion of PS nanospheres, and the maximum optical output enhancement was obtained when the size of the nanospheres was close to the light wavelength. The largest enhancement of the optical output of 1.27-fold was obtained at an injection current of 100 mA. The enhanced optical output was attributed to part of the incident light beyond the critical angle being extracted when the exit surface of the NUV LEDs had a PS nanosphere monolayer. This method may serve as a low-cost and effective approach to raise the efficiency of NUV LEDs.