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Enhanced light-extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with hybrid Photonic Crystals

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Abstract

The light-extraction efficiency (LEE) of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is strictly limited by total internal reflection (TIR) and Fresnel reflection. In this paper, we sought to utilize hybrid Photonic Crystals (PhCs) with different etched depth to increase the LEE of GaN-based LEDs. The results showed that the structure proposed here could decrease not only the TIR but also the Fresnel reflection. Three-dimensional rigorous coupled waves approach was employed to calculate the total transmission efficiency at different incident angles, and numerical simulations based on finite-difference time-domain method were carried out to explore mechanisms by which hybrid PhCs can effectively improve the LEE. This improvement is related to the grade-refractive-index effect and diffraction properties of the hybrid PhCs. And the structure proposed here provides a train of thought for the design of high efficiency LEDs.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61077043), the National Basic Program of China (973program) through Grant Nos. 2009CB930503, 2009CB930501, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61475084) and the Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University (2014JC032).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China

    Meng Liu, Kang Li, Fan-min Kong, Jia Zhao & Xiao-jie Yu

  2. School of Physics and Electronics Engineering, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, 250200, China

    Meng Liu

  3. School of Physics and Electronics Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China

    Qing-yang Yue

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  1. Meng Liu
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  2. Kang Li
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  3. Fan-min Kong
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  4. Jia Zhao
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  5. Qing-yang Yue
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  6. Xiao-jie Yu
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Correspondence to Kang Li.

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Liu, M., Li, K., Kong, Fm. et al. Enhanced light-extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with hybrid Photonic Crystals. Opt Quant Electron 47, 2593–2604 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-015-0140-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-015-0140-3

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