Metasurface-Integrated Organic Light-Emitting Diodes: Analysis of Spectral Effects on Theoretical and Experimental Performance

Abstract

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have emerged as a leading display technology and become rapidly embraced in commercial applications. In this paper, we explore the integration of metasurface (MS) designs for polarizer-free top-emitting OLEDs (TOLEDs) with enhanced absorption of ambient light. From the performance evaluated by varying the geometrical parameters of the MS, it is found that the broadband absorption in the long wavelength range, associated with the localized surface plasmon mode of the MS, can be tuned by adjusting these parameters. Optimizing these parameters can effectively localize and enhance near-fields at the MS edges, thereby reducing the reflectance of MS-integrated TOLEDs (MI-TOLEDs) under ambient light. An optimized MS may balance reduced reflectance with minimal emission loss from TOLEDs. Numerical results suggest that MI-TOLEDs can improve spectral out-coupled light intensity and overall angular enhancement of the out-coupled power by at least 50% and 45%, respectively, over conventional TOLED. In the whole visible wavelength range, the MI-TOLED shows 48% lower reflectance compared to conventional TOLED, which is confirmed by experimental data measured from the MS optical cavity. Changes in encapsulation thickness influence the surface plasmon polariton mode, shifting resonance conditions in the reflectance spectra within the short wavelength range.