Light Management with Nanostructures for Optoelectronic Devices.
Light management is of paramount importance to improve the performance of optoelectronic devices including photodetectors, solar cells, and light-emitting diodes. Extensive studies have shown that the efficiency of these optoelectronic devices largely depends on the device structural design. In the case of solar cells, three-dimensional (3-D) nanostructures can remarkably improve device energy conversion efficiency via various light-trapping mechanisms, and a number of nanostructures were fabricated and exhibited tremendous potential for highly efficient photovoltaics. Meanwhile, these optical absorption enhancement schemes can benefit photodetectors by achieving higher quantum efficiency and photon extraction efficiency. On the other hand, low extraction efficiency of a photon from the emissive layer to outside often puts a constraint on the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of LEDs. In this regard, different designs of device configuration based on nanostructured materials such as nanoparticles and nanotextures were developed to improve the out-coupling efficiency of photons in LEDs under various frameworks such as waveguides, plasmonic theory, and so forth. In this Perspective, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of the recent progress of research on various light management nanostructures and their potency to improve performance of optoelectronic devices including photodetectors, solar cells, and LEDs.
†Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Siu-Fung
SF
Leung
†Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Qianpeng
Q
Zhang
‡Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Fei
F
Xiu
§Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 99 Haike Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Pudong, Shanghai 201210, China.
Dongliang
D
Yu
‡Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Johnny C
JC
Ho
§Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 99 Haike Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Pudong, Shanghai 201210, China.
Dongdong
D
Li
†Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Zhiyong
Z
Fan