Purcell enhanced electroluminescence of a unipolar light emitting quantum device at 10 micron

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that by engineering metamaterials and microcavities, it is possible to significantly enhance spontaneous emission in mid-infrared electroluminescent devices, leading to more efficient light sources.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach using metamaterials and nano-emitters to enhance mid-infrared electroluminescence through the Purcell effect, achieving a 100-fold increase in collected power.

Findings

Achieved collimated mid-infrared emission with enhanced power

Demonstrated a 100-fold increase in collected emission power

Showed that spontaneous emission can be engineered for efficient devices

Abstract

Efficient generation of radiation in the mid- and far- infrared relies primarily on lasers and coherent nonlinear optical phenomena driven by lasers. This wavelength range lacks of luminescent devices because the spontaneous emission rate becomes much longer than the nonradiative energy relaxation processes and therefore emitters have to count on stimulated emission produced by linear or non-linear optical gain. However, spontaneous emission is not a fundamental property of the emitter. By engineering metamaterials composed of arrays of nano-emitters into microcavities coupled to patch antennas, we have demonstrated mid-infrared electroluminescent devices emitting a collimated beam with excellent spatial properties and a factor 100 increase in the collected power, compared to standard devices. Our results illustrate that by reshaping the photonic environment around emitting dipoles, as in the Purcell effect, it is possible to enhance the spontaneous emission and conceive efficient optoelectronic light emitting devices that operate close to the thermodynamical equilibrium as LEDs in the visible range.