Resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes

Abstract

The resonant-cavity light-emitting diode (RCLED) is a light-emitting diode that has a lightemitting region inside an optical cavity. The optical cavity has a thickness of typically one-half or one times the wavelength of the light emitted by the LED, i.e. a fraction of a micrometer for devices emitting in the visible or in the infrared. The resonance wavelength of the cavity coincides or is in resonance with the emission wavelength of the light-emitting active region of the LED. Thus the cavity is a resonant cavity. The spontaneous emission properties from a lightemitting region located inside the resonant cavity are enhanced by the resocant-cavity effect. The RCLED is the first practical device making use of spontaneous emission enhancement occurring in microcavities.