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Behaviors of Surface Plasmon Coupled Light-Emitting Diodes Induced by Surface Ag Nanoparticles on Dielectric Interlayers

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Abstract

The enhanced surface plasmon (SP) coupling effects in a blue light-emitting diode (LED) with regularly patterned (REG) surface Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on a dielectric interlayer (DI) of a lower refractive index overgrown on p-GaN are demonstrated. Without a DI, the surface Ag NPs-induced SP coupling with the quantum wells (QWs) in the LED can lead to the increases of internal quantum efficiency and LED output intensity, the reduction of the external quantum efficiency droop effect, and the enhancement of modulation response. By adding a DI, the SP coupling effect is enhanced, resulting in the further improvements of all the aforementioned factors. We compare the SP coupling effects in the LEDs with REG Ag NPs on DIs to those of randomly distributed (RAN) Ag NPs previously reported. Although the variation trends of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance peaks and hence the SP coupling behaviors of REG and RAN Ag NPs are similar, their LSP resonance strengths at the QW emission wavelength are different due to their different spectral patterns of LSP resonance. In other words, although the REG Ag NPs can produce stronger collective LSP resonance with a narrower spectral width, the SP coupling effect depends mainly on the LSP resonance strength at the QW emission wavelength.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, The Republic of China, under the grants of NSC 102-2221-E-002-204-MY3, 102-2120-M-002-006, and 102-2221-E-002-199, by the Excellent Research Projects of National Taiwan University (103R890951 and 103R890952), and by US Air Force Scientific Research Office under the contract of AOARD-13-4143.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Chun-Han Lin, Chung-Hui Chen, Yu-Feng Yao, Chia-Ying Su, Pei-Ying Shih, Horng-Shyang Chen, Chieh Hsieh, Yean-Woei Kiang & C. C. Yang

  2. Department of Energy and Refrigerating Air-conditioning Engineering, Tung Nan University, 152 Beishen Road, Section 3, New Taipei City, 22202, Taiwan

    Yang Kuo

  3. Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Yean-Woei Kiang & C. C. Yang

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  1. Chun-Han Lin
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  2. Chung-Hui Chen
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  10. C. C. Yang
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Correspondence to C. C. Yang.

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Lin, CH., Chen, CH., Yao, YF. et al. Behaviors of Surface Plasmon Coupled Light-Emitting Diodes Induced by Surface Ag Nanoparticles on Dielectric Interlayers. Plasmonics 10, 1029–1040 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-015-9902-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-015-9902-9

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