Planar dielectric microcavity light-emitting diodes: Analytical analysis of the extraction efficiency

This article presents a simple analytical expression for the extraction eff iciency of planar dielectric microcavity light-emitting diodes (MCLEDs) bas ed on two distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). The calculations take into a ccount the optical properties of the resonator (reflectivities and index co ntrast of the DBRs, cavity length, refractive index of the outside medium), as well as the spectral properties of the active material. The impact of t hese factors on the extraction efficiency is investigated and compared to t he results of exact numerical calculations. Simple design rules for optimiz ing the extraction efficiency of MCLEDs are derived and discussed for displ ay and fiber coupling applications. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.