Localized surface plasmon-enhanced electroluminescence from ZnO-based heterojunction light-emitting diodes

Abstract

We demonstrate the surface plasmon (SP) enhanced n-ZnO/AlN/p-GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by inserting the Ag nanoparticles (NPs) between the ZnO and AlN layers. The ultraviolet/violet near band edge emission of the device is significantly enhanced while the green defect-related emission is modestly suppressed compared to the LEDs without Ag NPs. The red-shift of electroluminescence (EL) peak and the reduced photoluminescence decay lifetime of ZnO suggest that the improved EL performance of the device with Ag NPs is attributed to the resonant coupling between excitons in ZnO and localized SPs in Ag NPs.

Sandwich-structured Cu2O photodetectors enhanced by localized surface plasmon resonances

“…In the contrast, the excitation of LSPs is more facile and it can be easily achieved in many metal nanoparticles (e.g., Au, Ag, Al and etc.) [13][14][15][16].…”

A facile method for fabricating Au-nanoparticles-decorated ZnO nanorods with greatly enhanced near-band-edge emission

“…Among these materials, ZnO/metal hybrids have been intensively investigated. It has been demonstrated that the NBE emission of ZnO can be enhanced by incorporating various kinds of noble metals, such as Ag [13], Au [14,15], and Pt [16]. Meanwhile, the DL emission band of ZnO is usually suppressed, resulting in an improved monochromaticity of UV-light emission.…”

“…Various hybrid structures, such as ZnO/oxides [9], ZnO/polymer [10], ZnO/carbon nanotubes [11], ZnO/graphene [12], and ZnO/metal [13], have been investigated in this regard. Among these materials, ZnO/metal hybrids have been intensively investigated.…”

Enhanced optical response of ZnO/Ag nanocolloids prepared by a picosecond laser

“…When the energy of excitons/photons in a semiconductor is similar to the electron vibrational energy of metal SPs, the energy will be coupled into the SPs and finally scattered into free space as radiation [8]. The formation of such new recombination path improves the internal quantum efficiency of LEDs [9] as well as their light extraction efficiency. The coupling with metal NPs, which is a near-field interaction, induces a significant luminescence improvement in ZnO-based p-n junction LEDs via Ag nanoparticles decoration [10][11][12][13].…”