Surface Lattice Resonances for Enhanced and Directional Electroluminescence at High Current Densities

• Published in: ACS photonics Vol. 3; no. 12; pp. 2225 - 2230
• Main Authors: Zakharko, Yuriy, Held, Martin, Graf, Arko, Rödlmeier, Tobias, Eckstein, Ralph, Hernandez-Sosa, Gerardo, Hähnlein, Bernd, Pezoldt, Jörg, Zaumseil, Jana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 21.12.2016
• Subjects: Letter; Purcell effect; plasmonic crystals; organic electronics; electroluminescence; light-emitting field-effect transistor; surface lattice resonances
• ISSN: 2330-4022; 2330-4022
• DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.6b00491

Hybrid photonic-plasmonic modes in periodic arrays of metallic nanostructures offer a promising trade-off between high-quality cavities and subdiffraction mode confinement. However, their application in electrically driven light-emitting devices is hindered by their sensitivity to the surrounding environment and to charge injecting metallic electrodes in particular. Here, we demonstrate that the planar structure of light-emitting field-effect transistor (LEFET) ensures undisturbed operation of the characteristic modes. We incorporate a square array of gold nanodisks into the charge transporting and emissive layer of a polymer LEFET in order to tailor directionality and emission efficiency via the Purcell effect and variation of the fractional local density of states in particular. Angle- and polarization-resolved spectra confirm that the enhanced electroluminescence correlates with the dispersion curves of the surface lattice resonances supported by these structures. These LEFETs reach current densities on the order of 10 kA/cm2, which may pave the way toward practical optoelectronic devices with tailored emission patterns and potentially electrically pumped plasmonic lasers.